Keep Holding On
by LoverofLove
Summary: Leaving Town Sequel: Tragedy has separated them again. He works fulltime in the afterlife, while she is living a relatively normal life.  Their paths intertwine and perhaps they’ll find each other’s hearts once again, but will they hold onto it this time?
1. Heels Over Head

**THIS IS THE SEQUEL TO ****LEAVING TOWN****. PLEASE READ THE FIRST INSTALLMENT BEFORE CONTINUING, OTHERWISE IT JUST WON'T MAKE ANY SENSE. For those that have already: Welcome back. Let's get this going, shall we?**

**Thanks, LoverofLove**

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_**Keep Holding On**_

Tragedy yet again has separated them. Unlike last time, things have definitely changed. Their lives have been switched. One now works fulltime in the afterlife, while the other is living a relatively normal life. Their paths intertwine and perhaps they'll find each other's hearts once again, but will they hold onto it this time?

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**A/N:** Here I am again. I'm sorry it took me some time to get this up, but things came up. Things that well, let's just say my friends and I got a little reckless. So I'm sorry. But here it is. Remember it's a starting chapter, so nothing too big will happen. Just some introductory information and such. So, this chap was named after the song, "Heels Over Head," by Boys Like Girls. So, like always, enjoy.

Disclaimer: Never will own it. Sadly.

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_Chapter 1: Heels Over Head_

She was walking along the sidewalk with her thin, knee length lavender skirt swimming in the breeze. The slight breeze that barely had enough power to cause flowers to dance in open fields was still very appreciated in the harsh summer weather. The sun was scorching at this time of the year and there is only so much someone can possibly do, other than wear a white spaghetti strap tank top, in order to stay cool.

She was on her way back to work after delivering a bouquet of flowers to an older woman that just can't seem to get her old legs to work the way they used to. She was always a sucker for the helpless.

She was never one to crave attention, but ever since she came to this town five years ago, now almost six, everyone seemed to stop whatever they were doing to look up at her and deliver a smile. She took note that it was usually the men, but still she wasn't a fan of having all eyes on her. She didn't even like it when people tried to thank her by doing something in return. The way she thought was when you're lending a hand to someone, you shouldn't be doing it for the reward. Although, it really did separate the respectable ones from the disgraceful ones.

"Ah! Miss Kuchiki! How are you on this fine day?" a man stacking boxes out of a truck said, wiping his sweaty forehead with his arm.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say it's a 'fine' day. It's hot as hell," she said looking up at the cloudless sky. "But how's work going, Ishida? Haven't seen you in a few days. Been busy?"

He let out a deep breath. "Yeah. Two of my fulltime employees haven't been able to make it to work lately. One went on vacation and the other one has been in the hospital. I've had to stay at the store over night for the past few nights just to stay on track."

She frowned. "That's terrible, but you never cease to amaze me," she said ending with a smile.

He pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Well I guess I should be happy that people in this town love their electronics. People can't go a day without a CD or a movie or whatever the hell keeps them happy."

"Sadly, that's true," she woman said, looking down to the ground as her mind thought about what he said.

"But that's why Orihime hasn't been coming into the café lately. Since I haven't been able to get home and watch Ryo, she's had to stay home and watch him," he said with exhaustion evident in his voice.

"Oh, I've been wondering where my assistant manager has been. I started to worry. I understand though. Five year olds need watching twenty four hours straight. But you know if she needs a break she could just bring him over and I'm sure Nozomi could keep him busy," she said trying to help out, as always.

Ishida smirked, "I'm sure she could. I think my son is in love with your daughter, Rukia."

She laughed, "Well, he's got a lot of planning to do if he plans on winning her over. Us Kuchiki woman don't fall so easily."

"Yeah, I know. It's been almost six years and Ren still hasn't won _you_ over," Ishida said placing a box from the truck on top of the one on the ground.

She playfully punched his shoulder. "You know it's not like that. He's just a good friend that's been there for me ever since I was a baby carrying whale."

"Well, then he's been wasting his time trying to get you to fall in love with him since you obviously are as blind as a bat."

She glared at him for a minute and then her lips formed into a soft smile as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Don't overwork yourself, Uryuu. And please tell Orihime about what I said."

He smiled and nodded. "I'll go call her once I bring these boxes inside. I'll come by the café soon for a meal."

She smiled back at him and began to walk off to her destination. This day felt different. Everything she did up until this point was nothing out of the ordinary, but she just felt like something was different. Well, she took that back. Things haven't been going so great today. She woke up late and was almost late to deliver the flowers. Plus, adding the fact that she was almost run over by a mini van and received no sort of apology whatsoever, but had just kept on driving away, made her day _just a little bit worse_. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that her hair was not working with her today so she just threw it up into a ponytail. Yeah, she wasn't particularly in a good mood.

She stopped in her tracks and closed her eyes. She let the light breeze slide across her face and breathed in as much air as her lungs could hold. She smiled with her eyes closed as she exhaled the air through her nose.

She opened her eyes and saw her café across the street. "You're insane, Rukia. Everything is exactly as it's always been. Just a rough start today. Everybody has their bad days," she said to herself, walking the small distance to work.

* * *

"This is god damn ridiculous! This is the vaguest instructions I've ever gotten! How in the hell do they expect me to do this if their directions are to look around for anything suspicious and go after it!?" he yelled holding the letter his captain gave him. He was standing in front of a rather large fountain in the middle of a large open area, which seemed to be a park.

He held a backpack over his left shoulder with his left arm as his eyes danced across the letter that he just couldn't believe was written by professionals.

He began to make his way out of the area and exited through a gate with the letter's contents still floating around in his head.

_Ichigo Kurosaki,_

_The town you have been sent to seems to have unregistered spiritual pressure. It's especially unique. It's your mission to investigate what the possible cause is to this finding. If it proves to be a threat, exterminate it. If it does not, contact us for further instructions. That is all._

_Good Luck._

"Fucking bullshit, is what that is," he mumbled to himself as he began to walk along a sidewalk. He didn't have a clue where he was walking to, but he knew there was no point in stopping if he didn't know where he was.

He looked at his surroundings. He was told he died almost six years ago, so he figured he would know a lot more about the human world than he thought considering it wasn't too long ago that he himself was in it. He looked at the cars passing by, 'I can't believe I forgot everything about this place. But it all seems to be flooding back into my head now.'

He looked into the buildings that he passed. 'Clothes. I might need to get some more of them soon. I might be here for awhile. I don't even sense one bit of spiritual energy,' he thought continuing to walk down the sidewalk, until he stopped.

He continued to stare into the window of the store. His eyes grew wide and his mouth turned into a grin. He walked into the store. He could remember most of the things he saw inside. There were stereos in one corner, with huge racks of CDs next to it, which stretched out along an entire wall. There were televisions of all kinds on the other side of the store with DVDs lined along shelves.

His eyes moved across the various objects in the store. They set their gaze on keyboards and then finally on something he definitely recognized. He walked over to it slowly and dropped his backpack to his feet.

His hands reached out and held the neck. One hand moved along the face of the Epiphany SG that was bright red. He looked around in the store and saw two girls over near the CDs and two men talking in the back at the counter. A man with glasses left the counter and seemed to have gone in a back room. He then looked back down at the electric guitar he held in his hands and threw the strap over his shoulders, while flipping the switch on the amp.

His fingers touched the steel strings and smiled widely as he realized how much he missed such an inanimate object. He couldn't hesitate anymore, so he played.

_I got your runaway smile in my piggybank baby  
Gonna cash it right in for a new Mercedes  
You were worth the hundred thousand miles  
But you couldn't stay awhile  
I got your little brown shirt in my bottom drawer baby  
And your little white socks in the top drawer  
You were always leaving your shit around  
And gone without a sound_

_Yeah I'm the first to fall and the last to know  
And where'd you go?_

He stopped his strumming and then continued right into the chorus.

_Now I'm heels over head,  
I'm hangin' upside down  
Thinking how you left me for dead  
California bound_

He closed his eyes. A smile made its way across his face. At that moment, he was actually happy to be a dog for Soul Society. If he wasn't, he wouldn't be reacquainted with his past love; music.

_I got a first class ticket to a night all alone  
And a front row seat up right by the phone  
Cause you're always on my mind  
And I'm running out of time  
I've got your hair on my pillow and your smell in my sheets  
And it makes me think about you with the sand in your feet  
Is it all you thought it'd be?  
You mean everything to me_

_But I'm the first to fall and the last to know  
And where'd you go?_

He actually forgot where he was at the moment, but that didn't matter. He was enjoying himself way too much.

_Now I'm heels over head,  
I'm hangin' upside down  
Thinking how you left me for dead  
California bound  
And when you hit the coast  
I hope you think of me  
And how I'm stuck here with the ghost of what we used to be_

He didn't notice, but the man at the counter made his way slowly towards him, while the two girls were now starring at him with great interest.

_You're burnin' bridges baby  
Burnin' bridges, making wishes  
Yeah you're burnin' bridges baby  
Burnin' bridges, making wishes  
You're burnin' bridges baby  
Burnin' bridges, making wishes  
Yeah you're burnin' bridges baby  
Burnin' bridges, making wishes_

_You're a chance taker, heartbreaker  
Got me wrapped around your finger  
Chance taker, heartbreaker  
Got me wrapped around your finger_

He was approaching the end of the song so he put more emotion in. He couldn't help, but smile. It was odd. He barely ever smiled. For the past five years everyone knew him to always where a scowl on his face.

_I got your runaway smile in my piggybank baby  
Gonna cash it right in for a new Mercedes  
If I drive a hundred thousand miles  
Would you let me stay a while?_

He let silence fill the air for a second or two before blasting out the chorus.

_Now I'm heels over head,  
I'm hangin' upside-down  
Thinking how you left me for dead  
California bound  
And when you hit the coast  
Maybe you'll finally see  
And then you'll turn it all around and you'll come back to me_

He let the strings vibrate against his hovering fingers. He grinned more than ever, but then his face fell back into a simple satisfied look.

He opened his eyes and was surprised to see the two girls walk up to him. His eyes went wide in shock.

"You were fantastic," one of the girls said seductively as she began to walk closer to him. He pulled the guitar over his head and rested it back on its stand.

"Um, thanks," he said uncomfortably.

"I've always been a sucker for musicians, but what girl isn't right?" she said smirking as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her hand, which he obviously didn't want there. He bent down to pick up his backpack, which successively removed her hand from his shoulder. "Well, some girls don't like music," he said, avoiding the point of her comment.

She smiled even more and walked even closer. It was so close that he could feel her breathing against his skin, so he leaned back slightly trying to get some space. "Well, this girl does," she said even more flirtatiously.

She moved her hand and pulled something out of her back pocket. "Here," she said, moving her arm around his body and placing a piece of paper into _his_ back pocket.

He jumped slightly. 'Damn, this woman doesn't give up!' he thought, as his face put on a smile, but showed how uncomfortable he was.

"Call me sometime," she said finally with a wink. He just stared back at her with his fake smile as the woman and her friend walked out of the door. His entire body relaxed as he let out a huge breath.

"You're amazing, man!" a voice said behind him. He turned and saw the man approaching fast.

"Uh, thanks," he said rubbing the back of his neck.

"I realized something just now," the man started, "that woman was right."

The shinigami raised his eyebrow. 'What in the hell could that woman possibly be right about?'

"Girls _are_ into musicians," the man with short black hair said smiling. He seemed to be around twenty years old.

"Uh, okay?" the shinigami said, turning around towards the door.

"Wait!" the man yelled, grabbing his arm before he reached the door.

He turned and looked back at the man as if he was crazy. "Please, I want you to teach me. I'll do anything!" the young man said before the shinigami could ask what in the hell he was doing.

The shinigami was shocked. 'Did he really just ask me that?' he thought. "Sorry, buddy. I'm no teacher. I have things to do. I don't have time to help you," he said beginning to turn again, before his arm was grabbed.

"Please! I'm-" the man began again, but stopped as his face turned into a frown and he looked toward the floor. "I'm desperate. I'm in love with a girl, but I just… I just suck. There is nothing about me that will make her like me back in the same way. I figure if I can play as good as you, I can win her over. Damn, I would give anything to have her look at me the way that woman just looked at you."

The shinigami let out a deep breath. 'Why do I always feel bad for the damn helpless? Ah, fuck!' he thought in his mind. "I-" he began, but was cut off.

"How about you think it over through lunch? I can get you a free meal at the place that I work," the man said hopefully.

Well, he had already decided to help him out, but what was wrong with getting a meal out of it? So he just closed his eyes and nodded once.

"I'm Kin Yoshida," the man said standing up straight with his hand held out. Hearing this, the shinigami opened his eyes and looking into Kin's blue eyes.

"Ichigo Kurosaki," he said grabbing his hand and shaking it.

"Come on, Ichigo. Let's go now. My shift starts soon anyway," Kin said leading him out of the door.

* * *

"Kin, I got that CD you ordered. Do you want it now, or you want to come back later?" Ishida said from behind the counter.

"I don't have any money on me now. I'll come back later. I just came by to look around. I've got nothing else to do," he replied.

"Why don't you go and try to win Shina's heart then?" Ishida said smirking wildly.

Kin groaned, "I wish," he said burying his face into his hands that were propped up by his elbows on the counter.

"Well, believe it or not, other people have work to do. So I'll see you later," Ishida said retreating into the back.

He was exhausted. He began to take boxes off a shelf in the back, but found himself leaning against the wall. He needed sleep. He hadn't slept for two days. He hadn't seen his family for two days; only talked to them on the phone. Guilt filled his chest now.

His thoughts continued to run wild as music filled his ears. He smiled as he leaned the back of his head against the wall now. He still loved music. Although it pained him to hear it because it only reminded him of his late-best friend, he couldn't help but smile at what his friend use to be. It was as if he heard his very friend playing right now.

"I must be going mad," he said chuckling to himself.

He stood straight up and went to pull another box off the shelf, only to realize he was still hearing the music, until it suddenly stopped. He placed the box on top of the one on the ground and began to exit the back.

He entered the main store and saw Kin exit the store with a man. They had already went through the door and the objects for sale that were displayed in the window were blocking his view.

He chuckled, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "You're losing it, Uryuu," he said going into the back again.

* * *

They walked into a relatively busy café. It looked quite cozy actually, but it was still pretty big.

"Hey, Ichigo. I've got to go get my apron and stuff. You can wait for me at the counter," Kin said walking away.

Ichigo started to walk in still looking around, when his eye caught something he wish he hadn't. It was that damn woman from the store earlier. His eye twitched from the sight of her.

He began to walk very stealthy, or so he believed, trying to avoid her gaze. He kept his eye on her to make sure she wasn't planning on looking his way, but found that he ran straight into something; something that seemed to be moving pretty damn fast and wasn't expecting someone to be in the way.

Ichigo's eyes moved directly in front of him and his mouth dropped. 'Shit!' his mind yelled.

"Shit!" the woman yelled, quickly bending down to the floor.

"I- I'm- I'm so sorry," he said looking at the tray on the floor, which had pieces of broken dishes and food spread across the floor.

He bent down to try and help the woman and began to pick up broken dishes.

"Don't. It's fine," the woman said harshly, sitting down completely now and leaning on a table behind her. Her head kept looking at the floor, but her eyes were closed.

He tried to see her face, but she was looking down and pieces of her raven hair that couldn't be held back in her ponytail were blocking his view. "Listen. This was all my fault, I wasn't paying attention. Please, let me make it up to you," he said hating the fact that this woman seemed very pissed off.

"No, no. I said its fine. I'm just having an off day," she said, sitting straight up now so that she was looking into his saddened amber eyes. Her chest seemed to expand as she lost her breath looking into them.

He looked back into her now seeable eyes. They were so unique; he couldn't take his own eyes off them. They were violet and made him feel so calm that he could fall asleep in them. 'Great. Piss off a woman as beautiful as her. Nice job there, Ichigo,' he thought.

He didn't really know why, but he began to let go of a dish he was holding with both hands and held it out to her, "Ichigo Kurosaki," he said until he felt pain on his palm. "Ow!"

His yelp knocked her out of her hypnotism and made her look down, only to see he had apparently cut his palm on the broken dish he was holding with his other hand. "You're bleeding," she said softly.

"Oh, is that what that red stuff is?" he said sarcastically.

She glared at him and grabbed the wrist of his bleeding hand. She stood up and yanked him along behind her.

"Shina! Can you retake table eight's order?" the raven haired woman asked, pulling Ichigo behind her still.

The young woman with elbow length brown hair nodded and walked over to the said table.

"What are you doing?" he asked confused as they stopped at the back counter.

She didn't answer, but instead began to look around behind the counter for something. She huffed, "I'll be right back," she said walking up a set of stairs that were ten feet away.

Ichigo was confused. He looked back at his hand and went to reach out to it when he was stopped.

"Don't touch it!" she yelled coming down the stairs with something in her hands.

His head snapped up at her and watched her place a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a bandage on the counter. "Give me your hand," she demanded.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

She rolled her eyes, "Come on now, it's a busy today and it's only going to get busier. Give me your hand," she said holding her hand out for his.

He hesitated, but then placed his hand gently on hers. She began to pour the rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab and then rubbed it on his cut.

He hissed and pulled back his hand. "Oh come on," she said smirking, pulling his hand back into hers. She continued to rub it in as she heard him hiss still. "You look stronger than you really are," she said smirking without taking her eyes off his hand that she continued to clean.

He squinted at her, "How about you go and cut your god damn hand on a dish and let me rub that shit on your hand! Then we'll see who's strong," he said raising his voice.

She chuckled, "Uh-huh. I'll take a rain check. I must have hit a nerve though..." She picked up the bandage and began to wrap it around his hand. The cut wasn't near his fingers or too low on his hand, so she wrapped it around his whole hand in the space between his thumb and index finger.

He huffed from her remark. "You didn't have to do this, you know."

"You cut you're hand on my dish," she replied back, finishing wrapping his hand up.

"But I wouldn't have done that if I didn't crash into you," he said with a hint of remorse in his voice.

She finished and looked up at him. "I said it was fine," she said softly with a slight smile on her face.

He was speechless. Her eyes showed so much kindness and her smile made his heart beat faster. 'What the hell is this woman doing to me,' he thought to himself. All he could do was smile back and nod.

"Ichigo, I can seat you now," Kin said coming over to them and seeing Ichigo's hand was still in her's. "Did I- interrupt something?" Kin added hesitantly.

They looked down to see what he was staring at and then both jerked their hands back.

"Okay, so it looks like Kin can help you out if you need anything," she said slightly smiling up at him. She began to walk away.

"Wait!" Ichigo yelled louder than he thought it would come out. She turned around and looked at him.

"You- uh," he began rubbing the back of his neck, "You never told me your name."

She smirked and began walking backwards, "Rukia Kuchiki. I'll see ya around, Ichigo Kurosaki," she said turning around and walking away.

He watched her retreating and smirked.

"Ichigo!" Kin called a short distance away. "Here's your table."

He walked over and sat down. His eyes were still on the waitress that he was glad he knocked into.

"Kin, what can you tell me about her?" Ichigo said nodding his head in the direction of her with a smirk on his face that he couldn't hide.

"Rukia? Well, she's my boss. She owns this place. She gave me a job when no one would hire me. They said I was too clumsy or some other damn excuse. I came to her when she just came here about six years ago and practically begged her for a job. She hired me on the spot. Actually she told me to start working at that very instant now that I think about it," he chuckled. "She's the most caring person I know, but she's also the most stubborn, and she doesn't take shit from anyone. She's like an older sister to me actually. Even Shina over there feels the same way," he said pointing over to another waitress.

"So do all the other people that work here. The cooks and such," he said nodding over to a back door, which Ichigo assumed was the kitchen.

"We're here all the time either working or just hanging out. Plus, Rukia lives upstairs so she's usually here. So if I was gonna get lessons from you they'd be here. So what do you say about that? Will you teach me?" he ended with a hopeful voice.

Ichigo looked back at Rukia with a smile and took a slight pause before replying, "Definitely."

* * *

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That's chapter one; the start of something (hopefully) good. So we met some new people, or some old people and we got a feel for their new lives. But we haven't even seen Nozomi yet! So just wait for chapter two! How is everything going to fit together? Well you're just going to have to keep reading to find out. Okay, if you review, you know I'll love you because your reviews kept me from stopping my last story. Anyway, I'm willing for suggestions for songs for each chapter. I could probably come up with one for each chap, but I figured some of you might like the idea of contributing into this story. Ok, here's the specifics. If you want to give a song, it has to have meaning into the story. Like it actually goes, like all the other songs I've done that described in some way the plot of the story or the emotions of the characters, etc. If you follow that, then I'll use it if it works! But, if you don't have any idea, just review and you're good. So until next time… Later


	2. True

**A/N:** I really do love you guys! You guys have been giving me great song selections, and believe it or not I have thought about some of those songs. I don't remember who, so I'm sorry if you're reading and aren't getting the credit, but someone PM'ed me and told me to use, "True" by Ryan Cabrera and this was one of the songs I was thinking of before, so I'm using this for chapter deuce! Okay, don't worry. I'm keeping all of your songs in the back of my mind for further chaps, but don't hesitate to add more to the list. This is a long ass chap, so you better be ready to sit down and read. This chapter will explain things that I thought I was clear about, but then went back to see how people could easily overlook it. So, I'm sorry if you're confused about things. Also, you'll see some more characters in this chap and major fluff, which will end with jealousy. Okay, so now that you're hooked, let's get this rollin'. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Shut up.

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_Chapter 2: True_

He came strutting in with his hands in his pockets and a pair of sunglasses still on. He was wearing Diesel sneakers, a pair of khaki shorts and a black tee-shirt with white lettering on it that said, "Things Happens." He just went and bought himself some outfits and brought them back to his room that he was staying at in the local hotel.

He was wearing a scowl on his face, which would have been no surprise to those that knew him. Today was Kin's first lesson and he still had about fifteen minutes left until his shift was over. The café was relatively slow. It was a little before noon, so it wasn't lunchtime yet.

Rukia saw him out of the corner of her eye, but decided not to say hello. 'What's wrong with saying 'hi'?' she thought keeping her eyes down at the flower counter that she was wiping down. 'Why do I care so much?' she thought again.

Ichigo sat down at a smaller table and saw a little boy around five year's old with reddish blonde hair sitting at a table next to him. The boy was staring into the distance, wearing a frown. Ichigo looked at the boy and then across the room to see what he was looking at. He saw another boy with a girl sitting at a table and the little girl giggled.

Ichigo huffed. He was pretty sure he knew what was going on, but he was going to ask anyway. Kids were his weakness, he knew that. "Hey bud! You okay over there?"

The little boy turned towards him startled. "Oh- um, yeah. I'm fine," he said looking down at the table top.

Ichigo smirked. "Uh-huh, sure. And my hair is _not_ the color of orange juice. Come here," he said patting his table for him to sit at. "Talk to me."

The boy sighed and walked over, slamming down into the seat across of Ichigo.

"Alright, first off who were you looking at just now?" Ichigo asked nodding his head in the direction of the other children.

The boy sighed, "Nozomi and Taro."

"Okay… Do you not like them or something?" he asked trying to get more information out of the boy.

"No!" the boy shot back. He immediately realized his outburst. "That's not it. I- I just- I give up."

"Give up? At what?" Ichigo pushed, raising an eyebrow.

The boy was looking straight down at the table. "Nozomi," he said without lifting his head.

Ichigo smiled. 'That's what I thought,' he said in his head. "What does this Taro kid have that you don't?"

"Well, he's- he's," he paused. "He's just better!" he said huffing at the end of his statement.

Ichigo let out a small laugh. "That's what I thought. The only way you're going to get the girl is if you fight for her. You sitting over here, while they're both over there, takes you out of the competition."

"Well, I guess you have a point," he said hesitantly.

"No, I _do_ have a point. Trust me. Now get over there and show them what kind of man you really are!" Ichigo said seeing the boy's self-esteem grow right in front of him.

"Right!" the boy yelled, slamming a fist into his palm. He was wearing an evil grin on his face and began to turn away.

"Wait!" Ichigo yelled grabbing the boy's shoulder and pulling him back. "Not that kind of fighting!" he said seeing the boy's surprised face. "I meant fight for her heart," Ichigo said smirking, while shaking his head.

"Oh," the boy said, but then smiled wide. "Okay! I can do that!"

"Good," Ichigo said letting go of the boy's shoulder.

"Oh yeah! I'm Ryo," the boy said holding his hand out to Ichigo.

"Ichigo," he replied grabbing his hand for a shake. "Now get over there and interrupt whatever moment they could be having," Ichigo said smiling devilishly.

Ryo gave a nod and ran over to the table. He sat down in the chair next to the raven haired pigtailed girl, who Ichigo assumed was Nozomi. The girl smiled at Ryo as he sat down.

Ichigo looked over at the flower counter and saw Rukia dealing with flower arrangements. He smiled unconsciously. She had her hair up in a bun, but there were a select few of strands that dangled around her face. She wore a white tee-shirt with jean shorts.

He got up and pulled his sunglasses up so that they were held on the top of his head by his bright hair. He began to walk towards the counter.

Rukia saw him coming and didn't know why, but her heart started racing. 'What the hell is wrong with you? Breathe, Rukia!' she thought, yelling at herself. She took a deep breath, but was interrupted by his voice.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked seeing her pause in the middle of her work.

She looked up at him and slowly exhaled from the deep breath she just took. "Uh, good. How's your hand?" she asked trying to regain her calm; the calm that she couldn't believe she didn't have in the first place.

"It's not bad. Still stings, but I'll live. But hey, I was wondering if I could have a dozen of those purple flowers right there," he said pointing to a selection behind her with his bandaged hand.

She looked at him, "The tulips?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said nodding with his scowl coming back.

She raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "For a girl?"

He thought for second and smiled, "I guess you could say that."

She didn't know why but she felt a tinge of jealously at hearing that. 'Something is definitely wrong with you, Kuchiki,' she thought.

He paused, but then began to talk again while she started to get together what he asked for. "It's pretty slow today. Yesterday was a hell of a lot busier," he said making conversation.

"Well, it's usually slow around this time." She paused for a second, "And it's usually that busy at the time you were here yesterday."

"Damn. Are you serious? How do you deal with that?" he asked leaning forward on the counter.

She couldn't help but smirk at his movement towards the counter. "Well, that's exactly it. I just deal with it. It can be stressful, but I love this job," she said looking at the flower arrangement she was trying to finish.

He smirked at her. "Amazing."

She looked up at him, surprised by his compliment. His amber eyes were looking deep into hers and she felt the need to swallow, but couldn't.

"Thank you, Taro!"

Rukia and Ichigo both turned in the direction of the three children. Rukia smiled at Nozomi, but was surprised at Ichigo's reaction.

"Shit," he said frowning. He saw the little girl holding what looked to be a candy bar to her chest. He saw Ryo's mouth wide open, and then it closed, revealing a frown.

Rukia looked at Ichigo, who was still looking at the children. She was confused. "What's wrong?"

He stood there thinking for a moment, and then turned to Rukia. "Do you think you could give me one of those flowers by itself too?" he asked with seriousness.

"Uh, yeah. Sure," she said pulling one out of the selection and trimming down its stem. She handed it to him, "Here ya go."

He took it with a sincere smile. "Thanks," he said before turning around. "Ryo!" he yelled, causing the boy to look up. Ichigo waved his hand for him to come over to him. The boy quickly got up and ran over.

"I'm losing, Ichigo," the boy said sadly.

"Yeah, I saw. That was a low blow. Don't worry though. It's just chocolate. Chocolate's a one time use kinda thing."

"Yeah, but still. He gave her something. I've got nothing! I could give her my gum, but it's got no taste left…" the boy said pointing to his mouth.

Ichigo had a disgusted face. "Ah, no, I think you should keep that." He then held up the flower. "Give her this," he said confidently.

"Wow. That's pretty," Ryo said taking the flower in his hands. "I can't take this. This is yours," Ryo said trying to hand it back to him.

"Nah. It's not mine. I found it. You keep it," Ichigo said smiling, putting his hands in his pocket.

Ryo smiled and ran back over to Nozomi. Ichigo saw him hand the flower out to her and her eyes grew wide. She took the flower in her hands, smelt it, and then nearly knocked Ryo over when she jumped on him to give him a hug. Ichigo smiled in success.

"I can't believe you just did that," she said, causing him to turn back to the woman who was in shock.

"What? I was talking to him earlier. He just needed a little push that's all," he said looking back at the boy who was blushing like crazy. He turned back to Rukia.

She let out a slight laugh. She knew how much Ryo liked her daughter. He was always too shy to actually do anything though. She honestly didn't know what to think. This man she met yesterday just helped a boy flirt with her daughter. Part of her felt awkward, but another part of her thought that was sweet.

"Well, here you go," she said handing the bouquet of tulips to him.

He took them with a smile. "I think this is how much I owe ya," he said placing some money on the counter.

"Yep," she said taking the money. "Are you waiting for Kin? 'Cause his shift just ended,' she asked.

"Yeah, thanks," he said beginning to walk away. He stopped after he got about five feet. "Oh!" he said holding the flowers out to her.

"Did I forget something?" she asked taking the flowers back. She began to count the flowers to make sure she wasn't a flower short.

He smiled, but rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Uh, no. That's my way of apologizing for yesterday."

She looked up at him with wide eyes. "What?"

He sighed and tried to avoid her gaze. "There your's."

She looked back down at the tulips. "I- I can't take this. I forgave you yesterday. You paid for this. It's yours," she said, holding it out to him.

He smiled, "Nah, it's not mine. I found it. You keep it," he said seeing her face light up from his repeated statement.

She held the bouquet closer to her face so she could smell them. She had to admit, she loved tulips. "What made you choose purple?" she asked curiously.

He began to walk backwards, "You're eyes," he said smirking. They continued to stare at each other. He was smiling, while she had lost her breath.

"Ichigo! Over here!" Kin yelled, causing Ichigo to turn and nod. He turned back to Rukia and smiled. "I'll see ya later?" he said in more of a question.

"Uh, most likely. I'm always here," she said regaining her regular state.

He just smiled and turned to walk away towards Kin.

* * *

A woman with brown hair down to her elbows walked up to Kin. 

"Hey," Ichigo said walking up to the two.

"Ah, Ichigo, this is Shina," he said motioning with his hand towards the woman next to him. "Shina this is my friend, Ichigo," he said not taking his eyes off Shina.

"Nice to meet you, Ichigo. Sorry I can't chat. I see customers are starting to come in. But Kin do think you'd have time to go over that book we were supposed to finish for English Lit.? I had a hard time understanding certain parts of it," she asked hopefully.

"Uh, yeah. I'd like that- I mean I had a hard time understanding it too, so I'd like to get together and talk about it. But not like I didn't understand any of it. I did, it's just-" Kin stuttered out.

Ichigo interrupted his rant with a bunch of 'out of control coughs.'

"Are you okay?" Shina asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh yeah, fine," Ichigo said smiling.

"So, how about after my shift is done we work on it?" Shina said turning back to Kin.

"Okay. Ichigo and I should be done by then," he said smiling.

"Okay," she said smiling back. "I have to go now otherwise I'm going to hear a lot of complaints from that lady who is glaring at me right now."

"Alright. I'll see ya later," Kin said, not noticing a smile across his face.

She turned back around to look at him, "Yep, it's a date!" she said walking back over to the waiting customers.

"A date," Kin repeated with a goofy smile, until it sunk in. "A date?!"

"Good going there, bud," Ichigo said clapping for him. "You got yourself a date."

"No. That's not good! I can't even talk to her without ranting on and on, like just now. If you didn't cut me off I'd probably still be going!"

Ichigo gave him a few pats on the back, "Well I'm here for ya. Remember that," he said sitting back down in the chair. "Come on. We'll worry about that later. It's time for you to start to learn how to play this thing so you can sweep her off her feet," he said picking up the black acoustic guitar on the floor. "Damn this is one fine guitar."

"It's not mine. I borrowed it from my friend who owns that store I met you in. This guitar means a lot to him for some reason so don't break it," Kin informed.

"Okay, okay. I'll be careful. I'm just trying to figure out one thing though," Ichigo said handing the guitar to Kin.

"Yeah?"

"How in the hell did I end up becoming a matchmaker?!"

* * *

Rukia just finished putting the tulips in a vase, and smiled down at them. 

"Who are those from?" a perky voice asked, breaking the raven haired woman's thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, just a guy," she said looking up at her assistant, but most importantly, best friend.

"A guy? How come you never told me about him!? Wait, is it from Ren?" the excited woman asked.

"No, Orihime. It's just from a guy," she said rolling her eyes, but with a smile placed along her face.

"Alright. But you know I'll find out if you're lying to me!" she said giggling. "But by the way, how _are_ you and Ren doing?"

Rukia raised an eyebrow. "How many times do I have to say it to you Ishidas! We aren't like that! We're just really good friends."

"Rukia," she said in a tone that made her sound like an oblivious little girl. "When we first moved here, he was drawn to you. Everyone could see it," Rukia was rolling her eyes at this point.

The reddish blonde continued even after seeing Rukia's reaction, "He's been trying to win you over for five years. Almost six. You had a baby for god's sake and he stuck by you! God, if you weren't so stubborn I think you guys would be married by now."

Rukia's eyes went wide from her last statement, but then she huffed. She leaned back against the counter, "I just don't need that kind of commitment, Orihime. I have Nozomi. That's all I need. Ren can be close to Nozomi, he has a right to be. But we're just friends. That's it."

"But you've got to be lonely…" she said softly.

Rukia's eyes grew wide and then softened. "I'm," she paused, "fine."

Orihime leaned her back on the counter next to Rukia, "Okay, okay. Fine."

Orihime heard the sound of a guitar. She looked up and searched the room. Her eyes locked on Kin who was strumming, but somehow it did _not_ sound like notes. She squinted from the sound, but then a man came and pulled a chair up in front of him. Her eyes went wide. Her mouth dropped.

"Orihime? You okay?" she asked waving a hand in front of her face. She looked over to where her eyes were locked.

"D-do you kn-know who that is?" Orihime asked pointing a finger to the bright orange haired man.

"Um, yeah. He's the guy who gave me these flowers; Ichigo," Rukia said nonchalantly.

Orihime's head snapped over to Rukia's face. Then, Orihime understood. Rukia didn't know a thing about him. Why would she? That was the point of her leaving Karakura Town five years ago.

**-Flashback-**

_After the funeral, Orihime ran off looking for her. She knew that everyone else was told not to, but she needed to know she was going to be okay. Rukia was in a terrible state, and she shouldn't just be left like that without knowing what she'd do. So Orihime searched for her using reiatsu._

_She found her after searching for quite some time. She was sitting down against a streetlight. That streetlight was the very one she leaned against when it all started; when she gave Ichigo his powers. Her face was buried into her knees that were pulled into her body. The rain was pounding onto her body, but she didn't even react to it._

_Orihime approached slowly. She knelt down and placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder. The raven haired woman didn't even flinch. "Rukia," Orihime said softly._

_The shinigami didn't lift her head. "I'm done, Orihime. I'm done crying. I'm done not being able to feel anything anymore," she said with a shaky voice._

"_Don't be too hard on yourself, Rukia. It's okay to feel like this," Orihime replied trying to help her friend._

"_No. It's not," she said lifting her head and looking into her friend's eyes._

_Orihime saw the pain in her eyes. Her violet pools were overflowing. _

"_I want to be happy again. I want to feel alive again," she added before Orihime could respond._

"_You will," she replied softly. "It's just going to take some time-"_

"_No. You're wrong," Rukia said sternly cutting into Orihime's statement. "I won't. Not without him," she said with her jaw trembling._

"_Ruk-" Orihime started._

"_That's why I made my decision," Rukia interrupted._

"_What decision?" she asked curiously._

_Rukia pulled something out of her purse and placed it on the ground next to her. _

_Orihime's eyes widened. "You can't be serious?"_

"_I don't want to hurt anymore, Orihime," she said without being strong anymore. Her voice was trembling and her face had collapsed from its emotionless state. _

_Orihime quickly moved in and held onto her friend tightly as she sobbed. The rain wasn't letting up and they were both drenched. Orihime leaned back slightly to talk to her again. "But you don't want to forget him. I know you don't," she said trying to convince her not to go through with this._

_Rukia looked down at the memory modifier. She kept her gaze on it for some time and then looked back up at her friend. "It's either I live without him and continue to feel like this," she said taking a deep breath to stop a sob from taking over, "or I live without him and forget. I- won't feel pain anymore after that," she added looking towards the ground. She looked back up into Orihime's eyes. "Either way… I live without him. So does it really matter?"_

_Orihime felt her heart drop from Rukia's statement. How could she deny her friend a chance to be happy? She knew Ichigo would do anything to make her content again. So Orihime swallowed. "Alright Rukia. If this is what you truly want."_

"_Thank you, Orihime."_

**-End Flashback-**

"Orihime? Are you alright? You're spacing out more than usual today," Rukia said shaking her gently.

"Uh- um, yeah." She moved her eyes away from her orange haired friend that she thought she would never see again. 'I just don't understand how this is possible,' she thought even though she looked like her attention was on Rukia.

"You've talked to him?" Orihime asked, curiously wanting to know how she met him.

"Well, yeah. If a guy gave you flowers without ever saying a word to you, that would be a little stalker like, don't ya think?" Rukia replied sarcastically.

"Why'd he give you flowers then?! Spill!" Orihime said grabbing Rukia's arm and shaking it roughly.

"Okay, Okay! Relax!" Rukia said laughing slightly at her friend's excitement. "He ran into me yesterday and I ended up dropping my tray. All the dishes fell and broke, and it was just a big mess. I had to clean up the food. Do you know how hard it is to clean spaghetti off this floor?"

"Rukia! Enough about the food! Tell me about Ichigo!" she said, not having any patience.

"How do you know his name?" Rukia asked with an eyebrow cocked.

Orihime thought for a second. 'Did she tell me his name? I don't remember! Wait, I think she did! When she said that he was the guy who gave her the flowers!' "You told me before!" she ended up yelling louder than she intended.

Rukia jumped from Orihime's yelling. "_Okay_? No need to yell about it now…"

"Sorry! I'm just excited."

"_Why_?"

"Because you met a new guy and since nothing is going on with Ren, then something can happen here!" Orihime cheered.

"Hah, _no._ He was just being nice. He was apologizing for yesterday by giving me flowers. I don't understand why though because I thought I made it perfectly clear while I was bandaging his hand that it was an accident," she said looking at the said man pointing out spots on a guitar to Kin.

"Wait, what happened with his hand?"

"He cut it on the broken dishes that he tried helping me clean up," she said not taking her eyes off him.

"And you nursed him back to health again!" Orihime said with a high pitch voice and her hands covering her heart.

"All I did was wrap it up in a bandage. You make it sound like he was dying…" Rukia said rolling her eyes at her friend's reaction. "Although I wish I still had my powers so I could have healed him slightly. It looked pretty painful," she said feeling regret.

"Aw! You were that concerned?! I haven't heard you talk about being a shinigami in at least three years! I figured you totally blocked that part of your life out."

"You can't block something like that out, Orihime. It's not like I used a memory modifier or anything," Rukia said slightly irritated.

There was a slight pause. That pause left Orihime slightly uncomfortable. She quickly changed the subject. "I say you should definitely go after him!" Orihime cheered on.

Rukia leaned off the counter and gave her a look that said, 'Are you kidding me?' "What have we just been talking about, Orihime?"

"How this is a love story starting all over again!" she said with dreamy eyes.

"Love story? No, that's not what we've been- and what do you mean all over again? Are you on drugs?" Rukia yelled out in disbelief.

"No, that's ridiculous! You can't be on drugs when you're pregnant!" Orihime responded.

"Well then what in the hell are you talk- Wait. You're pregnant?!" Rukia yelled throwing her hands on each of her shoulders.

"Hah, whoops," Orihime said innocently.

"Oh my god!" Rukia yelled, throwing her arms around her friend's neck and hugging her. "Why didn't you tell me earlier!? When did you find out? What did Uryuu say?"

"I found out two days ago. I haven't told Uryuu. And I didn't tell you because I haven't told anyone- until now," she said as if checking off a list as she answered the questions.

"Wait, wait, wait. You have known for two days, and you haven't even told the father yet?!" Rukia yelled in disbelief.

"He's been busy! I haven't seen him in two days! He's been working! I wanted to tell him in person!" Orihime said trying to defend her actions.

"You have to tell him!"

"I will! I'm just waiting for him to take a break that's all," Orihime said bowing her head down.

"Well now that I'm done yelling at you for not telling the father of your next child, 'Congratulations.'"

"Thanks, Rukia," she said getting another hug. They parted and Orihime began to talk again. "But back to our other topic. He obviously likes you Rukia, and you were way too interested in those flowers to even notice I came up to you before. So why don't you give it a try?"

"I'm not interested, Orihime. And neither is he. He gave me flowers to apologize for yesterday. That's it," she said with confidence.

"I doubt that," Orihime said innocently.

Rukia sighed, "Even if he was interested, I bet you that he would freak once he found out that I'm a mother."

"You're on!" Orihime yelled jumping in front of her with her hand out to make a deal.

"What?! I wasn't serious!"

"I am! If he does freak out about Nozomi then I'll tell Uryuu right away about me being pregnant," Orihime said seriously with her hand still held out. "And if he doesn't you have to go on a date."

"You've got to be kidding me. This is so childish! We're twenty-six years old, Orihime! You need to tell your husband and it shouldn't be by you losing a bet!"

"Call it what you want, but this bet will take place," Orihime said perkily.

Rukia grimaced, but grabbed Orihime's hand and shook.

"Good," Orihime said. "Now's our chance to find out! Nozomi and Ryo are over their interrupting whatever they we're doing. Let's go!" she said grabbing Rukia's wrist and pulling her towards the direction of Ichigo and Kin.

* * *

"Kin, you're not very good," Ryo said leaning on the little stage that the café always had but was never used. It was only about three feet off the ground. 

"It's okay, Kin! You can get better!" Nozomi yelled while clapping her hands.

"Thanks, Nozomi," Kin said sadly. "This is going to take forever for me to even sound like I'm playing music."

"Well, this is your first day. Give yourself a break. You're doing fine," Ichigo coached on.

"Why are you trying to play, Kin?" Ryo asked innocently with his chin resting on the stage.

"Well, I uh-" Kin began trying to explain it.

Ichigo cut in, "He's trying to woo a lady, Ryo."

"'Woo?' Ryo asked turning to Nozomi, who shrugged her shoulders. They both turned their attention back to the stage.

"Hi!" the little girl said with a big smile leaning on the stage next to Ryo. Ichigo noticed the tulip tucked behind her ear.

He smiled at how energetic she was. "Hi," he replied chuckling.

"I'm Nozomi. What's your name?"

"Ichigo. Nice to meet you, Nozomi," he said smiling. She was adorable.

"I like your hair!" she said smiling even bigger.

"Thanks. I like your hair too," he said, not knowing how to respond to that.

"Are you new here?" she asked immediately.

"Yes I am."

"Do you like my flower?" she asked innocently without pausing after his response.

"Um, yes. It's very pretty," he said chuckling from her random questions.

"Do you like bunnies?" she asked holding up a piece of paper with a blue bunny that he presumed she had drawn. He had no idea where that drawing came from once he thought about it.

"Yeah, bunnies are nice," he said chuckling still, while he heard Kin holding back from laughing with his hand over his mouth. Ryo was smiling, but anticipated his answers just as much as Nozomi did.

"I like you, Ichigo," she said straight out with a smile across her face.

"I like you too, Nozomi," he said not being able to hide a smile.

"Nozomi, are you bothering Ichigo and Kin?" Rukia said standing about three feet behind Nozomi, with her arms crossed over her chest and a smirk on her face.

"No, it's fine. We were just talking," Ichigo said smiling, looking at Rukia.

"See mommy? It's fine. You can go now," Nozomi said innocently.

"Oh I can go, huh? I can go, _huh_?" Rukia said after bending down to Nozomi and beginning to tickle her.

"You can stay! You can stay!" Nozomi yelled, giggling.

Rukia looked back up at the orange haired man on the stage. 'He had to of heard her call me 'mommy.' How come he didn't react to it? Maybe he didn't hear it…' she thought as Ichigo smiled down at them.

"Hi, I'm Orihime. I'm a friend of Rukia's," she said reaching her hand up to him.

He grabbed it, "Ichigo."

"You're also the assistant manager of this place," Rukia laughed out. "How do you manage to always forget that? That's always a good thing to say when you're in the place you work at," Rukia added laughing.

"Oops," Orihime giggled, kissing Ryo on the top of his head.

"You should talk," Ichigo interrupted. "You never told me you were the manager, not to mention the owner."

"I was busy cleaning your hand if I recall," she challenged raising an eyebrow with a smirk still on her face.

"Which I believe you rubbed way too hard in order to clean," he said smirking with a glare.

"I thought you could handle a simple thing like rubbing alcohol, seeing as how you _are_ a grown man, but I guess I misjudged…" she said still glaring back at him with a smirk.

"I told you to cut _your_ hand so you could see what it felt like to have someone rubbing a deep cut with something that's not supposed to be mixing with your blood," he said beginning to grit his teeth, but still smirking.

"And _I_ told _you_-" Rukia began with clenched teeth until she felt something pulling on her skirt. She looked down.

"Mommy, are you two done yet?" Nozomi asked oblivious to what was happening. Rukia and Ichigo looked around at everyone present only to see shocked faces from the little 'conversation' they just had. Orihime was holding back a laugh, which caused Rukia to raise an eyebrow at her odd reaction.

"Yes, we're done honey," she said, moving her hand over her little girl's hair.

Rukia looked back up at Ichigo and Kin, "By the way, what _are_ you two doing?"

"I'm trying to learn how to play the guitar, Rukia. I thought that was pretty obvious," Kin said holding the guitar up a little from his lap to show her.

She glared, "I can see that," she said.

"And we can _hear_ _it_ too," Orihime added laughing, causing Rukia to chuckle.

"But _why_ are you doing it?" Rukia asked curiously.

"He's trying to woo a lady!" Ryo piped up with his mother's hands on his shoulders.

The two mothers looked at each other and then back at Kin, "Who are you trying to _woo_, Kin?" Orihime asked smiling at how embarrassed he seemed to be getting.

"No one! I'm just learning how to play the guitar. What's wrong with that?"

Rukia turned to Orihime, "I bet you its Shina," she said receiving an understanding nod from Orihime.

Kin groaned loudly, causing the group to look at him. Ichigo began to laugh and gave him a pat on the back, "It's okay, man. Soon you'll be able to sing and play to her causing her to fall deeply in love with ya," he said in a voice that wasn't very excited.

"Do you really expect her to fall in love with you just by playing her a simple song?" Rukia questioned.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. She immediately added to her question once she saw this. "I mean there are a lot of other ways to do it that are better."

He smirked. "So you don't think a song can knock a girl off her feet?" Ichigo asked thinking this would turn into a challenge.

She shrugged, "There are better ways to do it."

Ichigo then looked down to the little girl looking up at him. "Nozomi, what would you think if I sang your mom a song to prove her wrong?"

Rukia's eyes went wide. 'So he did catch that part. He didn't freak out. Damn it, I lost!' Rukia thought turning to look at Orihime who was smiling from ear to ear because she knew she won. 'It still doesn't mean he's interested in me,' Rukia thought to herself.

"I think you should do it!" the little girl yelled drawing Rukia's attention back to the man on stage.

"Good! Then it's settled!" he said standing up.

"Wait, what's settled?" Rukia asked confused of what just happened.

"Kin, guitar me," Ichigo demanded holding out his hand. Kin nodded and placed it in his hands. "Why don't you go ahead and sit in that chair at that table right next to you?" Ichigo said more in a demand than a question.

"Are you serious?" she asked looking into his eyes.

He smirked, "You know it. I'm proving you wrong."

She glared up at him, but he saw a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Fine," she said walking off and sitting in the chair with her arms crossed over her chest.

Nozomi ran over and leaned up against the wall next to Ryo. Kin stayed on the stage in his chair, while Orihime stayed next to the stage leaning back on it slightly to watch Rukia's reaction to this.

Ichigo then jumped off the stage and walked over to Rukia. He then got up and sat on the table right in front of Rukia.

"What are you doing?" she asked uncomfortable of how close they were.

"This kind of thing works better when you're up close and personal with the one your singing to," he said with complete seriousness.

For some reason she felt her heart begin to pound at a ridiculous rate.

"You ready?" he asked smiling.

She leaned back in her chair with her arms still crossed. "Yep," she said confidently.

Orihime smiled at Rukia's refusal to give in. She knew this was going to be interesting.

"Orihime," she heard her name being called from right next to her. She turned to see her husband looking straight at their orange haired friend that shouldn't be sitting there on that table.

"Uryuu," she said surprised.

"What's going on- How is he- Why-?" he said stuttering with eyes wide open.

She lifted her hand and placed it on his shoulder. "I don't know. But right now it feels like old times again. Let's just enjoy it for the time being and get answers later," she said sincerely.

His mouth was open, ready to object to her statement, but the need in her eyes told him not to. He closed his mouth and nodded, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. He smiled at the sight and then whispered into her ear.

"The funny part is… that's his guitar." Orihime smiled, but did not reply.

Ichigo let his fingers move along the strings. He felt like this guitar was way too comfortable on his lap, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Then, he began to strum chords. Once he began singing he didn't look down at the guitar, but continued to look at Rukia.

_I wont talk  
I wont breathe  
I wont move till you finally see  
That you belong with me_

He smirked at her reaction. Her eyes went wide and it seemed like her entire body froze.

_You might think I don't look  
But deep inside  
In the corner of my mind  
I'm attached to you_

'Okay, breathe Rukia. Why are you acting like an idiot? It's not like he's meaning what he's saying. He's just trying to prove a point,' she thought regaining her stern look and crossing her arms tighter in front of her.

_I'm weak  
Its true  
'Cause I'm afraid to know the answer  
Do you want me too?  
'Cause my heart keeps falling faster_

He looked down at her, but wasn't smirking anymore. He had a completely serious face on. He didn't know what was happening, but he looked down at his guitar to interrupt the gaze. 'Why am I breathing so damn heavy? I'm just proving a point… right? Oh damn, I feel like if I look back up I'm going to forget the words or something. But I have to look back up if I plan on winning. Ah, shit,' he thought looking back up into her violet eyes.

_I've waited all my life  
To cross this line  
To the only thing that's true  
So I will not hide  
Its time to try  
Anything to be with you  
All my life I've waited  
This is true_

He looked down at his guitar to play a few chords before starting up the next verse. By now her arms had dropped to her lap and her mouth was slightly open. 'Since when do you act like this over a guy, Rukia Kuchiki?'

_You don't know what you do  
Every time you walk into the room  
I'm afraid to move  
_

_I'm weak  
Its true  
I'm just scared to know the ending  
Do you see me too?  
Do you even know you met me?_

It was weird how this song kept saying exactly what he was thinking. In a way he liked how he was able to get it out and hide it in a song, but in another way he was afraid that he actually had feelings for this woman sitting in front of him. That kind of thing wasn't allowed…

_I've waited all my life to cross this line  
To the only thing that's true  
So I will not hide  
Its time to try anything to be with you  
All my life I've waited_

_This is true_

He put more passion into the song as he made his way into the bridge. She was blown away at how into it he was.

_I know when I go ill be on my way to you  
The way that's true_

He held the last word of the bridge out and then slammed his hand down on the strings to go into the chorus for one last time. His eyes were glued to hers._  
_

_I've waited all my life to cross this line  
To the only thing that's true  
So I will not hide  
Its time to try anything to be with you  
All my life I've waited_

_This is true_.

He ended the song with a simple strum as he let a smile dance across his face. She was blown away. Even if she didn't admit it, everyone could easily see it.

Ichigo then leaned over and lifted his hand up to close her mouth, which was hanging open. "So, I believe I won. I mean from that kind of expression on your face…" he said smirking wildly.

She took a deep breath, ready to reply, but she couldn't find the right words to say. So she smiled up at him, "Touché, Ichigo. Touché."

"Rukia!" a man with short dark brown hair called from where Uryuu and Orihime were standing. He had a goatee, blue eyes and was wearing black dress pants, with a button-down white dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up. And a black tie to finish the dressy look.

She looked over and then back up at Ichigo. She smiled at the man sitting in front of her who was staring softly at her, and then stood up and walked over to the man. She hugged him and he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

"I didn't expect you to be back so early, Ren," Rukia said stepping away from his embrace.

"I know. They said that they didn't need me anymore so I came home early!" he said happily as he turned to see Nozomi standing in front of him. "And how's my little Nozomi?" he said picking her up into the air and looking up at her.

"Good!" she yelled happily.

Ichigo couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in his chest. 'I just fell hard for a woman that's already taken,' he thought as he found that the world suddenly grew a lot colder than before.

* * *

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So this turned out to be one hell of a chapter. It came out so much longer than I thought it would. Wow. I'm beat. Okay, now that I pleased you guys with a long chap, you guys can please me with plenty of reviews! Cause I'm really tired now. Haha. Okay. So, tell me what you're thinking. And sorry if there are any minor mistakes, as I told you before. I'm tired. Okay. So was I right about major fluff and then jealousy? I think so. Okay. Until next time, Later


	3. Still

**A/N:** First off, lynn77elric, I laughed out loud when I read what you said, "You are the master," haha. I don't know, made me laugh. But yeah. Thanks everyone for all your reviews. This chap took me a long time to get out here. A week! Yeah, that's pretty long for me. Okay, so here it is. It's pretty long. This is named after "Still," by Brian McKnight. I used this song because I planned on using this for awhile now. So I'm sorry I didn't use a suggested song, but I will for next chap, don't worry. I love all your ideas! Okay, so here it is. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: -sighs irritably-

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* * *

_Chapter 3: Still_

Ichigo was too busy staring at the reunion that made him sick to his stomach to even notice someone had taken a seat at the table he was still sitting on.

"Can you sit in a chair please?" asked a voice that sounded more arrogant than polite.

Ichigo turned his head to see a man with glasses sitting in front of him. He raised an eyebrow at the man and moved off the table to a standing position. "Can I help you?" he said in a confused and irritated voice.

"Yes, you can sit down and answer some questions," said man in such a serious tone that it made it sound like it was going to be life or death questions.

"Hey man. I don't know what the hell this is about, but I'm not interested in an interview," Ichigo said beginning to step away.

"What's your mission this time?" the man said, only meaning to grab Ichigo's attention so he would cooperate.

Ichigo froze. He slowly turned around to see the man sitting there still with no readable emotion on his face. His hands were folded on the table, but were soon moved so that he could push the glasses further onto his nose. "What? How do you-" Ichigo began startled.

"If you sit and answer some questions, I'll answer yours," he replied easily.

Ichigo slowly moved back towards the table and sat in the chair Rukia had been sitting in. Ichigo continued to stare at the man in wide eyes. He swallowed and then nodded, "Shoot."

"How is it that you are alive?" he asked, being very forward.

The orange headed man jumped. "Excuse me?"

The man with glasses leaned over the table more. "How is it that you are sitting here in front of me right now? You shouldn't even exist," he said trying to figure out what was going on.

"You don't know what you're talking about, you fruit loop," Ichigo said beginning to push out his chair.

"Fruit loop? You should talk, _Strawberry_," he replied receiving a glare from Ichigo, which soon turned into a questionable look.

"How do you know my name?" he asked causiously.

"Oh I know a lot more than you think, Ichigo Kurosaki," the man said, causing Ichigo to look at him in surprise.

"Do I know you?" he asked in interest and confusion.

"Apparently not, but I know you. You died almost six years ago and now you're a shinigami. The thing I don't understand is _how_ you are a shinigami. You shouldn't even exist…" the man said with seriousness dripping from his voice.

Ichigo looked at him puzzled. "Who _are_ you?" he asked in disbelief.

The man looked to the side, only to see his wife playing what looked to be "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot," with Nozomi and his son. He continued to watch, but answered Ichigo's question. "My name is Uryuu Ishida. I'm a Quincy," he said rather simply.

"A Quincy? I thought there weren't any left," Ichigo said in more disbelief.

Ishida sighed. "Well, you thought wrong," he said turning back to look at his long lost friend. "I was one of your best friends before you died."

Ichigo's eyes grew wide and his mouth hung slightly ajar. "I was- friends with a Quincy?" he asked in surprise.

"Don't act so surprised. It wouldn't have happened if you weren't a substitute shinigami," he said simply.

"I was what?!" Ichigo said alarmed.

Ishida huffed. "You really don't remember anything from your former life, do you?"

Ichigo just continued to stare at the man in front of him, while he tried to process all of this. "How was I a shinigami as a human?" he asked in doubt.

Ishida looked over at Rukia talking to Ren and then looked back to Ichigo. "Let's just say a shinigami gave you their powers in order to save you, their self and your family." He couldn't tell him who. Rukia made herself forget. She had moved on. He couldn't bring up their past. It would only make things a hell of a lot more difficult. If they were going to be together, they would have to start all over again and maybe someday they'd be able to hear their tragic story.

Ichigo took a deep breath, but Ishida questioned him again. "You died as a shinigami, Ichigo. You shouldn't be alive in any form right now."

The shinigami brought his hands to his face and then moved them so that they were pulling through his orange locks. This was too much. "You're telling me that every shinigami that I've met, ever since I went to Soul Society, already knew who I was?"

Ishida kept his gaze on his friend and nodded.

"No wonder I was allowed to skip through the Academy so damn fast. And to become a Vice Captain for only being in Soul Society for five years! They already knew my potential!" Ichigo slammed a fist on the table. He grit his teeth, "Damn shinigami and their secrets…" he stood up very determined.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ishida asked urgently, standing up from his seat.

"I'm going to get some answers from those bastards! Who the hell keeps something like that from someone?!" he said beginning to turn around.

"No! You can't!" Ishida yelled grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

Ichigo stumbled and turned around in shock. "Why the hell not?"

Ishida sighed as his adrenaline was still pumping. "Orihime and… I," he said pausing, "… have been hiding from Soul Society ever since your death. They've been looking for us ever since. If you go to them with all of this information, they'll suspect something. I can't allow you to give away our position," he said confidently. 'No matter what, I can't give away Rukia's true identity. She needs to be kept in hiding more than Orihime and I. They'd want her for committing more than one crime. And who knows what they would do to innocent Nozomi…'

"Why would they be looking for _you_?" Ichigo asked suspiciously.

"We were… important assets to them. We have powers that we used to aid them, so we were well known and well respected. If someone knew of the deepest secrets of the afterlife and decided to abandon that life they created that was wrapped around those secrets, those who are involved would not want anything to leak. Information in the wrong hands can be disastrous, you know?" he said nonchalantly.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying they don't trust you?"

Uryuu sighed, "It's not a matter of trust, Kurosaki. Although we did give them reason not to trust us by taking off and going into hiding, but that's not the point. The way they see it: if you're not working for them, then you have no right to know about them. It's a simple rule they keep just so they can cover their asses from anything being used against them."

Ichigo nodded slightly, but asked another question, "So why do you care if you know about them or not? If you want to live a life away from all of that, why not let them wipe your memory?"

Ishida looked over at his smiling wife, "Because they wouldn't just take away our memories. They'd take our powers too," he said and then looked back at Ichigo, "And they honestly have no right to do that. It's not like we're shinigami. We have our powers for different reasons, so taking them away is like taking away a hidden purpose; a purpose that we might never know, but sure as hell won't stop trying to figure out."

There was a pause in the conversation as Ichigo continued to absorb it all. Ishida continued though. "Plus. The whole act of wiping away people's memories is quite morbid. When life changing events occur and then suddenly are forced to disappear, who knows what kind of person would be left after that. The mind is a risky thing to mess with…"

Ichigo swallowed, looking down at his clenched fists, which were slammed against the table. He looked up. "So you want me to keep this to myself?" he asked sternly.

The man pushed up his glasses, but was now showing a totally different emotion than he had been portraying during this entire conversation. Ichigo now saw hope and vulnerability in his eyes.

"Please," he said weakly. "I know you don't remember me or Orihime, but the 'Ichigo' that I knew would never abide by the rules." He smiled slightly, "If I recall, I believe he said it wasn't his style."

Ichigo bowed his head down and closed his eyes. 'He must have really known me to know that,' he thought smiling. He lifted his head back up, erasing the smile on his face before Ishida could see. He looked straight into his eyes. "Then you gotta do one thing for me," he said sternly.

Ishida looked at him and lifted an eyebrow.

"Tell me about my life when I was still alive," he asked smiling as he saw his past friend's face show shock.

Ishida's mouth was open slightly, but then closed it and smirked. "Sure, but there's not much to tell. You were a real asshole."

Ichigo glared at the man in front of him, but wore a smirk. "I have a feeling you_ are_ a real smartass."

Ishida let out a laugh and stood up from his seat, "Hah! Maybe you do remember me…"

Ichigo chuckled. Ishida then spoke again, "I think we should leave this alone for the time being. We don't want anyone getting suspicious of anything."

"True, but the first chance I get, I'm gettin' some answers," Ichigo said, beginning to follow him over to where Orihime was with the kids.

'This is all so- so strange. I've never heard of a shinigami running into someone they knew in their past life. It almost feels wrong. Like I'm going against the forces of nature or something. I don't know, but I feel like I can trust this Uryuu guy so I won't rat him out. No matter how much I feel like beating the crap out of everyone in Soul Society. Like I said before, I'm a sucker for the helpless,' Ichigo thought.

He turned his head and watched Rukia still talking to the man called 'Ren.' 'Plus. These two are really close to Rukia. If something happens to them, she'll be affected. She doesn't deserve that,' he concluded his thoughts with a smile, still staring at the woman.

"Whatcha staring at?" an innocent voice asked causing Ichigo to jump.

"Uh- what? Huh?" he said focusing on the little girl smiling at him.

"You were staring at mommy…" she said with a grin.

Ichigo bent down on one knee to her level and smiled, "Nah. I was thinking of what to do tonight," he said trying to cover up what he was really thinking.

Her face lit up and grabbed his hand, which startled him. "Why don't you stay here? Everyone is stayin' and we could have lots of fun!"

"Oh yeah?" he smirked at her excitement.

"You should stay," Orihime said, holding Ryo's hand in hers.

Ichigo smiled at the woman. She was staring at him with the most intensity he could have possibly imagined. He realized just how much he must have meant to these people. He couldn't help but feel a sentimental feeling inside him. A feeling that he thought felt familiar. 'Perhaps not everything I've been through is lost," he thought and then looked back down at Nozomi. "Alright, I'll hang out for awhile."

"Yay!" the raven haired girl cheered before lunging on Ichigo. His eyes went wide and he began to laugh as he realized the little girl was hugging him.

* * *

"What's wrong? You look upset," Ren asked in concern.

"Oh no. I'm not upset. I'm just- surprised to see you," she said adding a smile to the end.

He gave her a heart warming smile. Rukia looked over to see Orihime playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot." She smiled at the sight, but was brought back to Ren when he spoke.

"Hey Ruk, I uh- I know this is going to catch you off guard and all, but I wanted know if you had any plans for this evening?" he asked sheepishly.

He was right. She was caught off guard. "Are you asking me out on a date, Ren?" she asked incredulously.

The man smirked, "If I was, would you say 'yes'?"

She looked into his hopeful eyes. 'Why don't I like commitment? What in the hell is wrong with me? Ren has been with me through everything in the past six years. Why did I push him away the first time? Because you're a cold-hearted bitch, Rukia Kuchiki and the funny part is you have no reason to be one!' she sighed in mid-thought. 'You don't deserve a guy like Ren,' she thought as she looked over to the three playing the game still. 'Well, this could be my way to get the date I promised Orihime to go on over with. And who knows, maybe something will happen,' she turned back to the patiently waiting brunette in front of her. "What time?" she asked with a soft smile.

He smiled so wide that you could have easily mistaken him for a little boy on Christmas morning after seeing all of his presents under the tree. He really didn't think she would agree, but he figured his luck was finally changing. "I'll come by at six. Wear something elegant. We're going out to a fancy restaurant," he said then leaning down and kissing her on the cheek again. He then turned around and left the café.

Rukia's smile fell from her face slowly as she watched him leave. 'I'm… going on a date,' she thought, hating the idea the more she thought about it.

She walked over to where she saw her daughter flung into the arms of the man who just sang a love song to her. She was really shocked. Nozomi was always friendly to people and she would talk to strangers easily, which she always told her not to but of course didn't listen. But her daughter met this man today and was hugging him so tight; it reminded her of the way she would behave around Ren.

"Um, am I interrupting something?" Rukia questioned amusingly.

The miniature version of the woman poked her head up from Ichigo's shoulder and smiled. "Nope! But Ichi's going to stay!" she yelled again with obvious joy.

Rukia raised an eyebrow at the nickname. 'She's already giving him a nickname?'

He smiled at the little girl and then stood up to look at her mother. "Heh, yeah. I've got nothing better to do and I'm new in town," he said rubbing the back of his neck.

She smiled, "It's not a problem, but I'm not going to be here for an hour or two," she said causing Orihime to look up at her from wiping off gum that was stuck on Ryo's face from blowing a bubble. "Where are you going?" she asked curiously.

"Ren's taking me to dinner," she said flatly with a hint of stress in her voice.

Orihime's mouth dropped. "You're going on a date… with Ren?" she asked in shock, and then looked over at Ichigo, who was too busy being dragged away towards the stage by Nozomi.

"Yeah. I figured I'd say 'yes' if he asked me so I can get our stupid bet over with," Rukia said running a hand through her hair.

"But-" Orihime started to say before looking back at the orange headed man who was smelling Nozomi's flower.

"But 'what,' Orihime? You were the one who wanted me to do this in the first place!" Rukia said putting her hands on her hips and glaring at her.

"No! Of course I did! I still do. It's just…" Orihime said, but then looked down to the floor. She wanted Rukia to have someone so she wouldn't be lonely. No matter how much Rukia says she isn't, she knows she is lying. She would have started cheering if Rukia had told her of her plans yesterday, but today was different; _he _was alive. _He_ was here. 'Everything was different now,' Orihime thought.

"It's just 'what'?" Rukia added curiously.

The reddish blonde woman snapped her head back up with a huge smile displayed across her face. "Nothing! I'm so happy for you!" she yelled still wearing the biggest smile she could give.

Rukia's eyes were wide. "That face is kinda scary, Orihime…" she said beginning to walk away towards the back. "Well I have to go get ready. Oh! I can't believe I didn't even ask. I'm so sorry!" Rukia said turning to her friend with apologetic eyes.

Orihime gave a sincere smile this time, as oppose to her fake one. "Yes, Uryuu and I are staying here for the evening. Of course we'll watch Nozomi."

Rukia delivered a thankful smile. "You're always there for me Orihime."

"Now go get ready! You have a date to go on!" Orihime cheered, even though she was feeling terrible for supporting this event.

Rukia gave a nod and jogged to the back where she raced up the stairs that led to her apartment.

* * *

Lots of talking had taken place between Ishida, Orihime and Ichigo. He had informed them on the reason he was here and his mission, while they told him details of his past life. Of course they left out a certain raven haired woman. Eventually they had begun to talk about miscellaneous facts.

"I was in a band? You've got to be shitting me!" Ichigo yelled excitedly.

"Well why the hell did you think you were so good at the guitar?" Ishida said taking a sip of his coffee.

"I don't know. That doesn't necessarily mean you were in a band!" Ichigo said in defense. "Was I good?" he added curiously.

"I believe we were pretty good," Ishida said casually.

"You were in it too? What did you play?"

"Keyboard. Our friends Chad and Tatsuki were in it too."

"Hah, I'd like to see them again, if possible. Same with my family," Ichigo said interested.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. Soul Society would probably get angry," Orihime said warning him.

"I don't give a damn. They owe me. They kept too much information from me in the first place!" Ichigo added irritated.

"Whatever you say, Kurosaki. Whatever you say," Ishida said.

"You know what today is?" Orihime asked to see if Ichigo would know.

He shook his head, gaining a slight smile on Orihime's face. "It's actually your birthday."

Ichigo gave a short chuckle. "You're kidding."

"Nope. You are supposed to be twenty-seven," she added happily.

He smiled. He actually felt like people cared about him. It was weird to witness, coming from a place that didn't show this kind of emotion; or at least didn't show it publicly.

"This is a café. We'll give you a cake and everything!" Orihime added with excitement.

Ichigo smiled gratefully, "No, you don't have to go and do all that."

Orihime gave him a sincere look, "Ichigo. We're your friends; whether you remember or not. We still care about you." She then became excited again. "And what kind of friends wouldn't celebrate your birthday?!"

Ishida smiled at his wife and then turned to his friend and nodded in agreement.

Ichigo looked down at the table and basked in the feeling he had at that moment. He was feeling pure happiness. He looked back up, "Thanks, guys."

"No problem!" Orihime cheered.

At that time, Rukia had started coming down the stairs from her apartment.

Orihime saw her and her mind went back almost six years ago.

**-Flashback-**

"_Orihime, what are you doing?" a confused raven haired woman asked seeing her friend pull up in a moving truck._

_She got out of the passenger seat and walked over to her friend who was standing outside of her apartment with a suitcase. "What do you think I'm doing Rukia?"_

"_Well it looks to me like you and Uryuu are moving somewhere…" Rukia said in a startled voice._

"_Yep," Orihime replied perkily._

_Rukia then settled her eyes on her friend's. She took a deep breath, "Orihime…"_

"_No Rukia. You're not going off on your own. If you're moving away then we're coming with you."_

"_You can't just hide away, Orihime. Soul Society would want to take away your powers and wipe your mind of their existence. You need to stay here. Let me go," she said sternly._

"_Rukia, you're pregnant. You can't do this on your own," Orihime insisted. "You disappeared for three weeks and then showed up two days ago saying you're pregnant. I don't know what happened in those few weeks, but you can't just go without telling the people that care about you."_

"_It's fine Orihime. In just those few weeks I planned everything out. I bought a building that I plan on making into a café and I even hired two people already. I met someone too," Rukia confidently. "I've only known him for a short period of time, but I can tell he's a great guy."_

_Orihime's eyes grew. It had been a little over three weeks since Rukia had forced Ichigo out of her mind forever and she had already found someone else? This seemed so wrong to Orihime. Her heart clenched from the thought. 'He must be… the father…' Orihime thought sadly._

"_We're still going with you. I already told Uryuu about all of this. We're going," she said with a voice that had no intention of changing her mind._

"_And he's fine with that?" Rukia asked incredulously._

"_Telling a Quincy to stop working with shinigami is a lot easier than you think," Orihime said allowing a smirk to show on her face._

_Rukia chuckled. "Are you su-" she began, but was interrupted._

"_Yes, I'm sure," Orihime said smiling softly at her friend. "Besides… our baby's can be playmates…" she added smiling._

"_What?!" Rukia asked with wide eyes. "You're- You're gonna-" she asked pointing to her stomach._

_Orihime laughed and nodded energetically. The two hugged and began to walk towards the truck with Rukia's suitcase in hand._

**-End Flashback-**

Orihime sighed at the memory and stood up. "I'll be back," she said leaving the table. She then began to praise Rukia on how wonderful she looked. "Rukia! I didn't even know you owned such a gorgeous dress! You look amazing!"

Rukia couldn't help, but chuckle at her friend's reaction. She was wearing an elegant black dress that went to her knees and it seemed to fit her every curve. "Thanks. I feel ridiculous though. Is this dress too revealing? Because I feel like I look like someone who would be found walking the streets at three in the morning."

"Why? Honestly, you look great! It doesn't look that way at all! It looks very graceful and chic. Ren is going to die!" Orihime said to boost Rukia's confidence.

"Well I hope not, otherwise I won't be able to wear this dress out," the raven haired woman joked.

"Well, have a good time! I have to go see what kind of cakes we have," Orihime said beginning to walk to the kitchen.

"Why? Getting cravings already?" Rukia teased.

"No!" Orihime laughed. "It's Ichigo's birthday. We're gonna give him a cake and sing!" she said with excitement.

"Oh yeah? That's really nice of you," Rukia said with interest.

"Yep, I'll see you later!" Orihime yelled going through the back doors.

Rukia began to walk over to her daughter and before she got to her, Nozomi turned around and her jar dropped. "Mommy looks like a princess!" she yelled pointing her finger at her approaching mother.

"_You showed me how some weird shit really __**does**__ exist, but also, I lived through one of those fairy tale stories myself."_

"_Oh yeah? How so?"_

"_You were locked in a tower and kinda guarded by the Sokyoku, which was like a frigen dragon to me. And then I came," _there was a pause.

"_And saved the princess."_

Rukia blinked. 'What the hell was that?!' she thought. She shook her head. 'I'm hearing things now! Seriously, I have to get my head checked.'

"Hey hun, mommy's going to go out with Ren for a little bit, is that okay?" she asked kneeling down to be at Nozomi's level.

"Yep! Have fun!" she said cheerfully.

Rukia chuckled at her daughters support, "I'll try," she said leaning down and kissing her on the cheek. "Now be a good girl, okay?"

"Uh-huh."

Rukia was hesitant. "I don't have to go if you don't want me to."

"Mommy," she started before putting her hands on her mother's shoulders. "I'm a big girl. You can go," she said easily.

Rukia frowned in disappointment, but then smiled at her daughters reply. "Thanks, baby," she said kissing her cheek again. She stood up only to see Ren begin to walk through the door. Her heart sunk. It was as if she was expecting someone else to come in and take her away. But it wasn't someone else. It was the one guy that has been there for her since she decided to live in the living world permanently. So why did she keep doubting him? Maybe tonight was when she would stop.

"Wow… Rukia… You look… amazing…" he said looking her up and down with wide blue eyes. His mouth curved into a smile when he met her violet orbs. "You ready?"

She nodded. Ren looked over, "See ya later, Nozomi," he said holding his arm out to Rukia so she could take it. They began to walk out of the café when she saw Ishida sitting at a table near the door with the man she had only met yesterday, but was somehow within her every thought.

Ichigo looked up and his mouth immediately dropped at her breath taking appearance. Her hair was down on her shoulders and the dress made his heart beat way too fast. "She's beautiful," he said softly causing Uryuu to turn and see what he was staring at.

Then, as if Rukia had heard him, her eyes met his. There was nothing said. Their eyes just continued to stare deep into each other's, without so much as a facial expression across their faces. It was one of the moments where you figured time had slowed down, but it really didn't. But at that moment, they both wished it did. Then Rukia passed them and her attention was brought back to the man next to her.

Ichigo exhaled a great amount of air once she exited the doors. His eyes didn't leave the doors that continued to swing slightly from the force of the two going through it. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, but his heart dropped in his chest like someone had cut the strings that held it up. She wasn't with him; she was with that other guy; that guy that he envied with every fiber in his body.

Ishida's eyes rested on the man in front of him. They watched him gently as the emotions flooded through the orange headed shinigami. It was happening all over again and he couldn't help but give a pitiful smirk. "Something wrong?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Ichigo huffed, "Ah, nothing." He took his eyes off the door. "Who was that guy?" he asked hesitantly.

"That's Ren. He's been close with Rukia ever since she moved here. He's stuck by her through everything. Great guy," Ishida said, taking his last drink of his cup of coffee.

"I bet," Ichigo said with the slightest hint of sarcasm, which Ishida raised an eyebrow to.

Ichigo looked back to the stage. He saw the stool that had the guitar he was playing earlier resting on it. He felt depressed now, and he knew that the instrument would help him feel better. "I'm craving music, Ishida," he said eyeing the guitar.

"Then don't let me stop you. Go put on a little show if you want. There are some customers here. If you're lucky they won't boo you and walk out because of how gay you sound," he said chuckling.

"Hah. You should talk! You sew!" Ichigo said standing up.

Ishida shot his head up to the shinigami. "Ichigo," he said urgently.

The said man stopped moving and looked back at him, "What?"

"How did you know I sew?" he asked wide eyed.

Ichigo smirked and then scratched the side of his head. "I'm not sure, but I'm not complaining," he said receiving a hopeful smile from his friend who stood up.

"Neither am I, Kurosaki. Neither am I," he said patting him on the back.

* * *

In the eyes of anyone, but Rukia Kuchiki, dinner would have been perfect. But she didn't even want to be doing this in the first place. She felt forced into this, but that wasn't true. She could have easily said 'no,' but she said 'yes.' She had to get over herself. Did she really plan on spending the rest of her life alone? This was for the best.

"I'm glad we did this Rukia," Ren said stopping outside the café and turning to her.

"Yeah, me too," she said with a small smile.

"To be honest, I thought you were going to say 'no' when I asked you. I was surprised. I still am actually. I had to keep telling myself you were really there at the table tonight," he said chuckling. "What made you think differently today? You've told me before that we weren't going to be like 'that' again. So what happened?" he asked curiously.

She shrugged. "I guess things change. I kept running when I should have been standing still. I never gave you a fair chance. Why not start tonight?" she said simply.

He smiled at her and stepped closer to her. To his surprise, she didn't back away. She was really full of surprises tonight. He brought his hand to her cheek and leaned in slowly, giving her the chance to pull away, but she kept staring back at him. Finally, he swiftly met her lips for a kiss that was gentle, but acceptable. She pulled away slightly and he smiled.

"It feels good to do that again," he said taking a step back.

"I'm sorry. I have to go," she said beginning to walk to the door only three feet away. Ren grabbed her wrist.

"_Stop running away."_

"_Then run with me," _a voice said that sounded like her own.

Her eyes went wide. She heard voices for the second time tonight. And each time, she swore she heard her own voice. 'What the hell is going on?'

"Are you okay?" Ren said, causing her to turn back to him. His face was etched with concern.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I don't know what just came over me," she said looking to the ground.

"It's okay. I've known you for almost six years now and I feel like you're still so distant from me. I'm willing to learn more, but only if you let me. I'll never pressure you, Rukia."

Rukia's eyebrows rose and she looked at him with grateful eyes. "Even when I push you away, you still stay close," she stated simply. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "Maybe we could do this again soon?" she added with a smile.

"Are you sure?" he asked in disbelief, but couldn't hide his excitement.

She nodded simply with a smile. He leaned down and captured her lips for a quick kiss. "I'd love to." He took a few steps backwards.

"You can come in if you want," she said motioning towards the door.

"No, I've got to go to work early tomorrow," he said disappointedly. "Tell everyone I said 'hey.'"

She nodded, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he said waving.

She turned and walked into the café and was surprised to see that none of the tables near the door were taken. 'Wow, business was really slow tonight,' she thought in surprise. She then looked up and saw at least forty people grouped together in the back. Tables and chairs were pushed together in front of the stage. She was shocked. On the stage was none other than the mysterious man that made a smile dance across her face just by being there. She began to walk up slowly.

"So what do you guys want next? Just please avoid another angry one. Why are you all so angry tonight?" he asked chuckling. "Any mood and I'll find a song for you," Ichigo said sitting casually on the stool with the black acoustic guitar on his lap.

Hands shot up in the crowd, one hand that stuck out to Rukia.

Ichigo nodded in the direction of the man, "Ishida! What's it gonna be?" he asked with a smile.

Ishida was sitting next to Orihime at a table towards the back of the crowd. They were holding hands and Ishida answered the orange headed man's question. He turned back to his wife, "How about one that says I'm still madly in love with my wife?"

Ichigo smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reason?"

Ishida turned his head back to his friend and frowned. "Does there need to be a reason, Kurosaki?

"Ah, no. I was just curious," Ichigo said shyly. There was a slight pause until Ishida spoke again.

"But if you must know," he started before a smile grew across his face. "We're having another baby."

"Well that's a damn good reason!" Ichigo said picking up the guitar firmly in his hands. "Okay this song will be a love song. Here we go."

Rukia was now standing in the back of the crowd in the opening and staring up on the stage. She looked over at Uryuu and Orihime for a second. 'Well I guess she finally told him,' she thought with a smile. She then saw Shina and Kin sitting at one of the tables near the front of the stage and they were sitting pretty close. Her eyes then took her to her daughter who was sitting on the stage next to Ryo. Everyone seemed to have someone, except for her. 'Well that's not true. I have Ren,' she thought before bringing her violet eyes back to the man sitting on the stage. 'But it doesn't feel like I really have someone…'

Ichigo began to strum the guitar. The music was soft and it floated through the air gracefully. He began to sing.

_Funny when you stop and think  
times goes faster then you blink  
nothings ever like it was  
but girl we've got a special thing  
all the happiness it brings  
is more than enough_

He looked up from his guitar and saw a few girls drooling at him and he smirked. He saw Kin blushing as Shina moved her hand on top of his on the table. He saw Ishida kiss Orihime's cheek as she leaned into his body more. And then he saw her. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise and he felt breathless. She stood there looking straight at him. He broke the gaze as he looked back down at the guitar, but quickly looked back up to look at her during the chorus. Everything in his entire body made him not want to take his eyes off her.

_I know its hard to believe  
your still the biggest part of me  
all I'm living for  
I still think about you  
I still dream about you  
I still want you  
and need you by my side  
I'm still mad about you  
all I ever wanted was you  
you're still the one_

_You're still the one_

His voice brought shivers down her spine. Something about it seemed to trigger something in her body. She couldn't figure out what he was doing to her or how he was doing it to her.

_It's hard to breathe when were apart  
your like sunshine in my heart  
I keep you here inside  
you've been everything to me  
you've been and always will be  
the apple of my eye_

He took a pause before going into the chorus. And just before he was about to play again, Ichigo heard a conversation; a conversation that no one else heard.

"_**I don't care when the last time you sang was! If you want me off this bed, you better sing for me."**_

"_**But-" **_he could have swore that it was his voice.

"_**No 'buts'! If you don't do this I'm going to fall apart…" **_the woman's voice sounded sad.

"_**Alright, alright. I just want to tell you I might not be that good-" **_it sounded as if someone put their hand to his mouth, cutting off his sentence.

"_**I don't want anything to come out of this mouth if it's not going to be sung. Now play."**_

He shook his head and found he was staring at the raven haired woman still. He quickly began singing again, seeing that he took too long of a pause, but hopefully it just built up suspense.

_I know its hard to believe  
your still the biggest part of me  
all I'm living for  
I still think about you  
I still dream about you  
I still want you  
and need you by my side  
I'm still mad about you  
all I ever wanted was you  
you're still the one_

_You're still the one_

He continued to sing not being able to take his eyes off Rukia. His mind went back to the conversation he heard. 'Where the hell did that come from?' he thought, but made sure he was focused on playing still. He sang with pure emotion for the bridge. As he gazed at her lingering form he somehow managed to forget the main reason of why he was singing this song in the first place. At that very moment, it felt like something deep inside him was reaching out to her and her alone.

_If you love me  
look into my eyes and say you do  
I've been waiting all my life  
for someone just like you  
baby after all that we've been through  
girl I'm still in love with you  
and I want you to know I do, I do_

"_**Well there's no need to yell about it!" **_a man's voice said.

"_**You were the one who seemed to think it was a sin to cry for you when I thought you were dead!" **_Rukia heard her voice yell back at the man.

"_**But I wasn't dead!"**_

"_**Yes you were!"**_

"_**No!"**_

"_**Yes!"**_

"_**No, damn it!"**_

"_**You're- heart- stopped- beating. What about that don't you get?!" **_

"_**Well it seems to be going now!"**_

"_**Well aren't you a genuine genius!" **_There was a pause in the conversation.

"_**Thanks," **_the man's voice paused._** "For saving me."**_

"_**Let's get you out of here," **_sheheard her voice say more calmly than before.

'What the hell?' she thought shaking her head. 'That was the third time today. What's going on?' She tried to shake her thoughts, and she found it to be pretty easy to do when a handsome man was singing a love song and looking straight at her.

_I still think about you  
I still dream about you  
I still want you  
and need you by my side  
I'm still mad about you  
all I ever wanted was you  
you're still the one_

_You're still the one_

The audience applauded and he stood up from the stool and bowed. "I'm gonna take a break for now, so talk amongst yourselves," he said placing the guitar on the stool and jumping off the stage.

'Why the hell was I hearing voices? And what were they even talking about? And the weirdest part is… one of the voices sounded like mine,' he thought shaking his head with a scowl on his face.

"That was one hell of a performance," someone said, which knocked him out of his thoughts.

Ichigo looked up and saw the raven haired beauty that was beginning to take over his thoughts. She was leaning against the front of the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, thanks."

She gave a curious look, "What have you been doing since I've been gone?"

'You mean since you went out with that _other_ guy?' he thought making a frown deepen on his face.

"Ichigo?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at his sudden reaction to her question.

He jumped slightly, realizing he had drifted away with his thoughts when she had asked him a question. "Oh, well I felt like playing a little music and Ishida said it was alright, but I don't think anyone predicted that everyone would listen and think it was a concert or anything. People started comin' in like crazy and they came straight to the back like they knew there was something goin' on. I don't know. It surprised me too," he said seeing her expression turn from curious to shock. "I hope you don't mind," he added quickly.

"Oh no! No, of course not. It looks like it was good for business anyway," she said seeing everyone with at least a drink in front of them. "Maybe I should be thanking you," she said looking back at him with a smile on her face.

He chuckled. "So, uh, how was your night?" he asked looking back at the stage where he saw Ryo trying to hold the guitar and Nozomi laughing at him.

She looked at him surprised. "It was pretty good. Yours?" she said suspiciously.

"Good, good," he said still looking away from her. "Dinner was good?" he asked again.

She leaned off the counter and smirked. "Why so curious?"

He snapped his head back to her with wide eyes. "Well, I'm not. I was just- It's just-" 'Oh god, I'm starting to sound like Kin!' he thought in agony.

"Hey Rukia we've got to get home. It's late and Ryo is way past his bedtime," Orihime said with Ishida coming up behind her with Ryo on his back. His head was placed on his father's shoulder and his eyes were shut. "I'm not tired," he said with his words dripping with fatigue.

"Of course you're not, son," Ishida said smiling. "So I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked looking to Ichigo and holding out his hand.

"Oh, yeah. Definitely," Ichigo responded grabbing his hand for a shake. 'We still have lots to talk about.'

"Okay. See you guys tomorrow," Rukia said to her departing friends. "And congratulations again!" she yelled before they went out the door, in which they waved back at her with a smile.

"Oh my god! I didn't realize it was so late!" Rukia said looking at the clock on the wall. "Nozomi! Bedtime!" she called out and saw her daughter's shoulders slouch from her mother's words. She began to move slowly towards her. "Come on now. If you don't go to bed I won't be able to read to you…" Rukia said receiving the reaction she hoped.

The little girls face lit up and ran to her. Rukia bent down to be at eye level. "Can I have cookies while you read?" she asked innocently.

"We'll see. It depends on how fast you can get changed into your pajamas…" Rukia said tapping her index finger once on her daughter's nose. Nozomi then opened her mouth wide and immediately started to sprint towards the back stairs. Rukia began to laugh as she stood up to watch Nozomi stumble up the stairs. The petit girl suddenly stopped and turned around fast. "Bye Ichigo!" she yelled, waving her small hand energetically at him.

"Bye!" he yelled back smiling as Nozomi continued running up the stairs.

Rukia then looked over to Shina and Kin. "Hey guys. I'm gonna call it a night. Mind closing up when you're done here?"

"Yeah, no problem," Shina answered.

Rukia turned back to him. "So… you're coming by again tomorrow?" she asked interested, but tried to hide it.

He nodded, "Yeah, Kin's got a long way to go before he's anywhere near playing a song on _that_ instrument," he said chuckling.

She smirked. 'Good,' she thought mentally. "So I'll see you tomorrow," she said still smirking.

"Yeah, I'll see ya," he said smiling as she turned around and began to walk.

She suddenly stopped and swirled around. "I'm almost forgot!" she said walking back to him. He watched as she continued to come closer. His eyes went wide when she leaned in and kissed his right cheek. Her lips felt soft against his skin and he couldn't help but close his eyes to her touch.

She pulled away. "Happy Birthday, Ichigo," she said smiling and walking backwards. She then turned and walked to the stairs, leaving Ichigo shocked, but definitely pleased. He lifted his hand to his cheek and grazed his fingertips where her lips had landed.

'Oh my god! Where the hell did that come from? Why did I just kiss him?! Okay, whatever you do, do not look back. Keep looking forward,' she thought to herself as she made it to her apartment door and walked inside. She shut the door behind her and took a deep breath as she leaned her back against the closed door. She mentally slapped herself. "What were you thinking?" she said out loud.

"Mommy!" Nozomi yelled from her bedroom.

"Coming!" Rukia said leaning off the door and beginning to walk.

"Don't forget the cookies!"

Rukia laughed. "Oh I wouldn't dare."

* * *

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I honestly want to say, that I didn't like this chap at all. I kept rewriting it and I'm still not satisfied. I know exactly how all the big scenes in this story are going to go. I have that perfectly done it's just getting to each scene that's giving me difficulty. What I tried doing was giving them back some memories, but they have no idea they are memories. Stupid main characters… But yeah, recognize that last scene from anywhere? Perhaps Leaving Town when she kissed him on the cheek and said happy birthday to him after he gave her back her purse? In a way it's like getting another memory back because they reenacted it. Anyway! All the memories I had them hear were in Leaving Town so hopefully they were familiar. Let me know what you guys thought because it'll get me pumped on getting you the next chap out a lot faster. Thanks. Later


	4. The Best Thing

**A/N: **This chapter gets more into the plot! Woohoo. Okay. So this chap is after the song, "The Best Thing," by Relient K. AND this song was suggested by OtakuRukia. Thanks for the suggestion. And give me some more people! For an idea of what song you can suggest, the next chap will have a "touchy" scene, if you know what I mean. Hehe. I was thinking "The Curse of Curves," by Cute Is What We Aim For, but I don't know. You tell me. This chap starts with fluff and then gets into something at the end. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Why?

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* * *

_Chapter 4: The Best Thing_

"Ah!" a yell was heard, which was followed by a loud slam. Ichigo had just walked in and found the raven haired owner laying her upper body on the flower counter.

He walked straight up to the counter. "Problem?" he asked smirking with his eyebrows raised.

Her head lifted up from being buried into her arms. Her face was strained, eyes slightly red, and a frown helped to finish the look. She groaned and flew her head back down into her arms.

Ichigo chuckled, "Looks like someone has a hangover…"

Her head shot up. "I haven't been drinking Kurosaki!" she yelled in frustration before burying her face again.

He frowned slightly. 'Okay, so something's really wrong,' he thought before approaching her again. "Alright. Tell me what's wrong," he said leaning on the counter.

"Nothing you could possibly help me with, Kurosaki," she said in a monotone that was muffled from her not lifting her head.

"Try me," he said staring deep into the top of her head. He saw her body move from her taking a deep breath and then sighing. She stood straight up with her hands folded on the counter in front of her.

"I was a complete idiot and forgot that I was hired to do the flowers for a wedding! I remembered in the middle of the night after I woke up from a nightmare of dancing white and red roses," she said, while one of her hands rubbed one of her temple.

"Well I could see how that could be frightening," Ichigo said in an amused tone, which earned him a death glare from Rukia.

He laughed at her glare, "What? I was serious! Those things have some sharp thorns! If they're dancing around like that they could poke an eye out or something."

She continued to glare, but she couldn't hold back the smile that was spreading on her lips. "Haha, very funny," she said, followed by a sigh. "I've been up since one in the morning doing all of these flower arrangements," she said motioning her hand behind her.

His mouth dropped. "You did _all_ of this in only a few hours?!" It looked like she could have been doing this for at least two days straight. "When are these supposed to be there by?" he asked looking back at the tired woman.

"At two," she said burying her face into her hands, which were being propped up by her elbows on the counter.

Ichigo's eyes went wide. "Rukia, its quarter after one…"

"I know," she said in such a sad voice, while her face was still buried in her hands. "My career is over…"

Ichigo then got a determined look. "But it looks like you have more than enough."

She sighed, "I'm done. It's just that I have to take all of these and bring them to the park, where the wedding is. And then I have to set it all up! Shina and Kin are at class right now and Orihime is managing this café by herself right now. I can't get this done on time all by myself!" She looked over Ichigo's shoulder at the whole building she owned. "Maybe everybody was right. I _have_ taken on more than I can handle."

Ichigo stared at her sad violet eyes. Something inside him snapped when he saw how upset she was. It was like he _had_ to do something to make it all better. He _needed_ to. He then was determined. He walked behind the counter and began to pick up as many flowers as he could hold.

She turned around and looked at him bewildered. "W-what are you doing?" she asked in shock.

"That van in the front is for delivering these, right?" he asked looking her in the eyes.

"Uh, yeah. But what are you doing?" she asked again.

He smiled genuinely. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm rescuing the damsel in distress."

"But- but you don't know a thing about flowers!" she exclaimed, while watching him walk around the counter towards the front doors.

He turned around, "I know that that's the least of your worries. You should focus more on how much time you have rather than what my IQ is," he said with a smirk and continuing to go to the door.

Her mouth was ajar, but it curved into a smile. She shook her head and then began to follow suit and bring the flowers to the van.

* * *

"Okay, we have ten minutes to get these all set up before they arrive," she said, handing Ichigo a few flowers. 

"So, what exactly do I do?" he asked looking at the flowers she shoved into his hands. Wow, he really was clueless.

_It's been a year  
Filled with problems  
But now you're here  
Almost as if to solve them  
And I can't live in a world without you now_

She grabbed a bucket of flowers and held it to her chest with her right hand. She then turned and grabbed Ichigo's arm, "Come on. I'll show you."

_All my life  
I've been searching for you  
How did I survive  
In this world before you  
Cause I don't wanna live another day without you now_

She dragged him to where all the tables were already set up along the lawn. It really was a beautiful place to have a wedding. It was near a little lake where you could see ducks and swans swimming in the distance.

_This is the best thing  
The best thing that could be happening  
And I think you would agree  
The best thing is that it's  
Happening to you and me_

She got lost in the scenery for a moment and stumbled slightly, causing a good amount of water to spill out of the bucket she was holding to her chest. "Shit," she said, but didn't stop and kept moving towards a table.

_All I'm gonna have  
Is all that you can give me  
And I'll give right back  
Everything I have in me  
Cause nothing ever felt as right  
As this does right now_

"Okay. Each table has a vase. In each vase put six red roses and six white roses. Try to make it look appetizing. Like this," she said moving the roses around in certain angles and then leaning back to admire her work.

He smiled. It didn't seem that hard to do at all, but the way she made it look made it seem like anything but simple. Now that's art. "Alright, sounds good," he said jogging off to another table.

_I'll go back to before we met  
Try and erase the past  
Try harder to forget 'cause  
Nothing will ever be as good as here and now_

They had moved faster than you could have believed. There were only two tables left. Ichigo left the table he just finished to get the last bundle of flowers in the van.

Rukia was making her way back to one of the last tables and she looked down at her watch, while juggling the flowers in her hands. "Two minutes, Ichigo!" she yelled, not looking to where he was.

Suddenly she stepped forward, causing her to fall backwards and the flowers to go up into the air. She closed her eyes waiting to collide with the ground, but she didn't. She felt an arm wrapped around her waist. She opened her eyes and found she was staring back into amber ones.

'_Cause when I looked into your eyes  
And you dared to stare right back  
You should've said "Nice to meet you, I'm your other half"_

He smiled down at her finally after her shock was gone and he could tell she was alright. She saw in his other hand he was holding the bouquet of flowers she flung into the air. He chuckled, "I guess this means I'm getting married next," he said looking back at the bouquet he caught.

_And this is the best thing  
The best thing that could be happening  
And I think you would agree  
The best thing is that it's happening  
This is the best thing  
The best thing that could be happening  
And I think you would agree  
The best thing is that it's  
Happening to you and me_

"T-thanks," she said in surprise. He quickly helped her to her feet and she ran to put the last of the flowers on the last table. She looked at her watch and saw it was thirty seconds past two. She sighed and wiped her sweaty forehead with her forearm. "Alright let's get out of here before they show up," she said walking past Ichigo to the van.

He turned around after her, "Don't you want to see the look on their faces when they see it?" he asked in disbelief. He thought she would want to take pride in their achievement.

"No, it's okay. I like to make it look like no one ever came," she said getting into the van. He got into the passenger seat and then she continued as she turned the key. "I mean there are things in the universe that help out in ways people would never understand or know for that matter," she said before looking over at Ichigo. "They help out because it's their duty. They don't get praised for it," she then nodded towards the window where you could see their work neatly done. "That was my duty. I don't need to get praised for it," she said with a look in her eyes that made him speechless.

_Always knew  
I'd find someone  
I never dreamt  
It'd be like this  
You've surpassed  
All that I've hoped for (and ever wished)  
And I'm tryin'  
So hard  
With all my heart and mind  
To make your life  
As good as you've made mine_

As they drove back to the café, Ichigo was growing fonder of the woman next to him by the second. 'She is more right than she really knows,' Ichigo thought, while still processing her explanation. Their ride was silent but comfortable.

They got out of the van and were about to walk into the café, when Rukia stopped and turned around to Ichigo. She looked deep into his eyes and it made her entire body feel warm. "I just want to say," she paused, "Thanks for doing this. You barely even know me and yet you had my back. I really appreciate it," she said with sincerity.

He smirked. "It really wasn't a problem. It was fun. _And_ I saved the princess."

_This is the best thing  
The best thing that could be happening  
And I think you would agree  
The best thing is that it's happening to you and me_

The best thing is that it's happening to you and me  
The best thing is that it's happening to you and me 

Then, something was triggered by his words. They both heard voices, but in their own heads.

"_**And saved the princess,"**_a male voice said easily.

There was a pause until a female's voice was heard whispering,_**"That makes you my knight."**_A name was said after her sentence, but it sounded too muffled to make out.

"_**I'll rescue you anytime,"**_the male said, ending his sentence with a name as well, but was too muffled to hear.

They both blinked and came back to reality. They shook their heads slightly. "So thanks again," Rukia said before leaning up and kissing his cheek. She then leaned back to see a smiling Ichigo. 'That is the second time in two days I kissed him,' she thought, while smiling back.

_The best thing that could be happening  
I think you would agree  
The best thing is that it's happening to you and me_

Little did they know, Ren was watching their little scene through the front window of the café.

The two walked into the café and Rukia was assaulted by a more than excited Nozomi. She sprinted straight towards her, and Rukia quickly bent down to scoop her up when she got close. "Hey there cutie," she said to her daughter who was now in her arms with her legs wrapped around Rukia's waist.

"Mommy! I told Ren about the concert Ichigo did last night! He said he'd like to hear him play," the girl said excitedly.

Rukia looked over at Ren who was watching their interaction. "Well, that's not up to me, Zomi. That's up to Ichigo," she said looking over at the orange headed man. He smiled because the mother and daughter both turned their heads at the same time to look at him. Nozomi's face showed her obvious anticipation.

"Yeah, sure. I'd love to," he said casually.

Ren had a feeling in his body that was screaming out for him to watch out for this 'Ichigo.' Rukia barely ever kissed anyone and he had just seen her kiss this _guy_ she's only known for two days. Sure it was only on the cheek, but still.

Ren walked closer and held out his hand to Ichigo. "Hey, I'm Ren," he said confidently.

Ichigo grabbed his hand firmly, "Ichigo," he said receiving a firm grip back. They looked each other in the eyes. They were both thinking the same thing: Competition.

Rukia raised her eyebrows at the heavy atmosphere that suddenly took over. She walked closer to the two who were still gripping hands. She chuckled to loosen the tension. "Settle down boys. No need to go and see who has the stronger grip," she said putting Nozomi down on the floor. She reached over and pulled apart their grip with her hands. Each one of her hands held one of theirs.

"Everything okay here?" she asked looking back and forth between them.

"Yeah, everything's peachy," Ichigo said with a fake smile at his competitor.

Nozomi laughed, "Peachy! Like strawberry, Ichi!" she said giggling.

Rukia chuckled at her daughter's remark, but was still holding each of their hands. Ren saw this. He then pulled her towards him firmly, making her hand slip from Ichigo's.

"Ren?" she asked with her hands now against his chest.

"I haven't said, 'Hi,' to you yet," he said smiling. He then leaned down quickly and claimed her lips. She was more than startled. He leaned back, "Hi," he said smiling.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at his obvious possessive actions. He was fuming.

Rukia was glaring up at Ren. "Hi," she said in a sarcastic tone. She pushed away from him, grabbed her daughter's hand and walked deeper into the café.

Ichigo smirked, seeing on how Rukia was pissed about Ren's actions. "Nice move, Renny," Ichigo said walking past him.

Ren glared at the back of his orange head and then walked out of the café.

* * *

Ichigo was laughing at a table with Ishida, Kin and Shina. Rukia took a deep breathe and then exhaled. 'What was Ren thinking earlier?' she thought. 

"Something on your mind?" Orihime asked from the side.

Rukia jumped slightly. "Um, well, not really."

"Liar," Orihime said easily.

Rukia huffed. "Earlier when Ichigo met Ren, there was a lot of tension in the air. Ren even pulled me in for a deep kiss right in front of him! It was like he was staking his claim on me!" Rukia said getting more frustrated as she talked.

Orihime's eyes went wide. "Wow. That's well… awkward," Orihime said chuckling at the end.

"It's annoying, that's what it is," Rukia said irritated.

Orihime raised an eyebrow. "It would only be annoying if you didn't want him to do it," she said suggestively.

"What are you getting at, Orihime?" Rukia asked with an annoyed tone.

"That you didn't want him to do it. And it's possible you didn't want him to do it _in front_ of Ichigo."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Rukia asked with a surprised look.

"You're falling for Ichigo," Orihime said smiling.

"I've known him for two days!" Rukia yelled throwing her hands in the air.

'You are so wrong,' Orihime thought. "Two days is enough."

"Please Orihime. Enough with your wrong assumptions."

"Fine. Don't listen to me. But if you're getting that feeling in the pit of your stomach and not to mention finding yourself kissing him when you have only known him for two days, don't expect me to not say, 'I told you so.'"

"Wait, you saw me kiss him?" Rukia asked in surprise.

"I think the whole building did. And maybe people across the street at the hardware store," she said laughing.

Rukia blushed slightly.

* * *

Ichigo was laughing. "Are you serious? You fainted when Orihime told you she was pregnant with Ryo?" Kin and Shina chuckled too. 

"Hey, I wasn't expecting it, Kurosaki! She was trying to make me eat a tuna peanut-butter sandwich at the time! If you had a bite of that in your mouth and then you were told something big, you'd faint too!" Ishida said in defense.

"Uh-huh, sure-" Ichigo began until his cell phone started beeping. He suddenly went serious, as did Ishida.

"I should take this," Ichigo said standing up urgently. The Quincy gave him a nod. He made it to the door until he heard Rukia's voice from the back.

"Where's Nozomi?!" she shouted running to Ishida's table.

"Haven't seen her. Did you check upstairs?" Shina asked.

"Yeah. She's not there," Rukia replied quickly.

"Do you think she could have left the café?" Kin asked.

Ichigo listened to their conversation and then locked eyes with Ishida. They seemed to be thinking the exact same thing. Ichigo looked down at his cell phone and then back up at his friend.

Ishida mouthed the words, "Go get her." Ichigo nodded and stormed out of the building.

* * *

"Please be okay, Nozomi," Ichigo said to himself as he shunpoed down the street. This was the first ounce of spiritual energy he felt in this town. It seemed pretty powerful too; almost as if it was bigger than a hollow… 

Then, Ichigo saw her. She was lying on the ledge of the large fountain in the middle of the park; unconscious.

Ichigo held Zangetsu tightly and looked around urgently for the culprit. He couldn't spot anything so he ran for the petite girl, who was oblivious to the world at that moment. He was about ten feet away until his path was interfered.

"I, myself was surprised to hear you were still living in some form or another," a monotone voice said.

"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo growled as he held Zangetsu out towards his current threat.

"You don't remember me? Pity," he said without showing any emotion. "I'm Ulquiorra."

"That's great. Now get the fuck out of the way if you want to live," he said with fire burning in his amber eyes.

"I'm afraid I lured you out here for a reason, Ichigo Kurosaki. I won't be leaving so easily."

"Fine. Then I'll just _make_ you leave!" He dove forward, but his attack was easily side stepped. He turned around and saw that Ulquiorra was now holding a zanpaktou in his hands. This zanpaktou looked different though. Its blade glowed red and black.

"Oh, so you're ready to fight now, huh?" Ichigo said with a smirk.

"Not exactly," he responded and shunpoed behind him. Ichigo tried to turn around but found it impossible. He felt a sharp pain down his spine and the air was knocked out of him. His mouth went ajar as he dropped to his knees on the asphalt.

All matter of noise around him ceased. The sun in the sky was now beginning to hide behind its evening curtain. As he tried to breathe in the air round him he found that this 'Ulquiorra' was now standing in front of him.

He leaned forward and whispered in Ichigo's ear. "Say 'hello' to the child's mother for me. I'll be seeing you soon, Kurosaki," he said, but by the time he finished speaking, Ichigo's eyes rolled up to the back of his head as he felt his entire body go into shock, until everything went black.

* * *

He felt light rain drops glide down his cheek and dripping off his nose to the ground. His eyes fluttered open and he found he was staring at wet asphalt. The sun was almost completely set now. He immediately remembered what happened. He was stabbed in the back with a strange zanpaktou, but the weird part was, he wasn't feeling any pain at the moment. 

"Are you going to lie there forever, Kurosaki?" a sarcastic voice said from the side.

Ichigo pushed against the asphalt with his palms, lifting him up so that he could pull his knees up and lean on them. He looked up with his palms still against the ground. Standing about five feet away was his co-vice captain with his arms crossed over his chest and a smile planted across his face.

"Got a little too much to handle?" he asked teasingly.

"Shut up, Abarai," Ichigo said beginning to stand up, but found he was a little dizzy. Renji moved in quickly and caught him before he crashed down to the ground. He helped him over to the fountain where Nozomi was still unconscious.

"Tell me what happened, Ichigo," Renji said simply resting his friend down to sit next to the little girl.

"I- I got a reading and I went to go take care of it, but this guy named, 'Ulquiorra,' was there instead of what I expected to be a hollow. He- He stabbed me with this freaky looking zanpaktou. All I remember is falling to my knees and feeling pain all throughout my body and then blacking out."

"Shit. Soul Society's wanted this guy for awhile. He's an arrancar, Ichigo. You're lucky you survived, since this is your first time in the real world," Renji stated.

Ichigo wanted so badly to shove it in his face that he knew of his past. He wanted so badly to ask him why the hell he would hide it from him. He figured they were pretty good friends even though they bust each other's chops all the time. But he promised he wouldn't. He couldn't trade in his friends for his own self satisfaction. He promised.

Ichigo looked over his shoulder trying to look at his wound. "I healed it. Just in case you were wondering why you weren't in pain," Renji said casually.

"Oh. Thanks," Ichigo said exhaling a large amount of air.

"So who's the girl?" Renji asked looking down at the little girl, whose breathing was even.

"Nozomi. She's the daughter of a woman I met," Ichigo said softly.

"_Oh_, does this mother have a husband?" Renji asked with an eyebrow.

"No, but what the hell does that have to do with anything?" Ichigo asked incredulously.

"I figured that's why you were out here trying to protect this little girl. You've got the hots for her ma," he said smirking wildly.

"You think that's the only reason I would try to save this little girl?! That's messed up, Renji. Seriously. This little girl is adorable," Ichigo said pushing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Yeah, you're right. She is a cute kid. But what's her name?" Renji said smiling down at the girl.

"I already told you, Nozomi," Ichigo said still smiling down at the sleeping girl.

"Not her. The mother," Renji asked looking back at his orange headed friend.

"Renji!" Ichigo yelled irritated.

"Fine, fine. Don't tell me her name! But you have to admit… she's gorgeous right?" he asked with interest.

Ichigo glared, but then smirked. "Yeah," he looked down to the little girl, "She's beautiful."

"Well that's always a plus. But I'm gonna get going. Keep up the good work," he said shunpoing out of there.

Ichigo began to see the little girl awake and he realized he needed to get back into his body fast. It was only about fifteen feet away so he began to get up and walked five feet.

"Ichi?" a little voice asked shyly from behind.

His eyes went wide as he turned around and saw the little girl sitting up and rubbing her eyes. 'How can she see me?'

"Can you take me back to mommy?" she asked while still rubbing her eyes.

He quickly changed his shocked face into a smile. "Yeah. Just give me a second, kay?" he asked.

She nodded and lied back down on the ledge of the fountain. Ichigo quickly jogged over to his body and got back in. He fixed his clothes as he stood up and jogged back over to Nozomi.

She sat up and looked at him suspiciously. "What happened to your black robey thingy?" she asked curiously.

"I, uh- I just changed. I can't be seen walking around in my pajamas, can I?" he asked jokingly, but secretly wiping his brow.

"Oh, okay!" she said jumping down to the ground and walking towards him.

He exhaled in relief. "Let's bring you back to your mom," he said holding his hand down to her.

She smiled widely and gladly took his hand in hers as they began to make their way back towards the café.

* * *

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Yeah, that was interesting, don't you agree? So basically we've got the problem of our main characters not remembering and the fact that we've got some bad cats coming back. Plus we've got the prob of Ren vs. Ichigo. So there's a lot going on in this story. Hopefully it's keeping you on your toes. Thanks for your reviews and I hope you give me some more. Love ya! Later


	5. More Than Words

**A/N:** I wrote this chap in the dead of morning. From around 2AM to 5AM. I've got sleeping problems. But you should be happy I have sleeping problems otherwise you probably wouldn't have gotten this so early, even though it's been at least a week. My updates are getting farther and farther apart. I'm sorry for that. I've been busy. And for the next week I'll be practicing with some friends in a band so we can dedicate a performance to our friend at their b-day party. So it'll be at least a week, I believe. I know: I suck ass. I'm sorry. Anywho. This is after the song "More Than Words," by Westlife. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't have the patience for this right now. It's early and I'm grumpy.

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* * *

_Chapter 5: More Than Words_

They were walking back to the café eagerly, but it surprised Ichigo when the little girl spoke.

"Ichi, why didn't you ask why I was out here?" Nozomi asked innocently looking up at him with her hand in his.

His eyes went wide. 'Yeah, I guess that's what someone would normally ask in this situation. But I knew the reason…' he opened his mouth to respond, but she continued to speak.

She was looking straight in front of her as they continued to walk. "I thought I heard someone calling for help. They didn't sound far away, but it ended up taking me farther away from home," she said looking towards the ground sadly.

"You heard someone calling for help?" Ichigo asked intriguingly.

She nodded, "But there wasn't anyone in trouble. There was a pale man standing near the fountain instead. Then I fell asleep…" she said sadly.

'She saw Ulquiorra… his spiritual pressure must have knocked her out. But she saw him. That means she should be able to see spirits, which would explain why she could see me before,' he thought rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. A smile drifted across his face, 'Damn this girl is amazing. She doesn't even seem afraid.'

She looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "Do you believe me?" she asked sadly.

He tilted his head slightly to the side. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Her story was more than believable even without knowing about shinigami or hollows.

"Lots of people don't believe me. I see things that people say aren't there. I don't get it either, because a person could be right next to me and they still don't see them!" she said in exhaustion, throwing a hand in the air.

Ichigo chuckled. "I know what you mean. It's like that for me too," he said before having something click in his head. 'I felt like she did when I was alive,' he thought surprised. '_I_ used to be a kid who could see spirits and people wouldn't believe _me_.' He chuckled in disbelief. 'I'm remembering my old life a lot more now. I just wish I could remember more about being a shinigami.'

"You can see them too?!" Nozomi asked pulling on his hand for his attention.

He smiled down at her. "Yep. But let's just keep this our little secret. 'Kay?"

She smiled big. "'Kay!" she said with their pace quickening as they saw the café around the corner.

They were about twenty feet away now and Nozomi spoke again. "Not everyone doesn't believe me. Uryuu, Orihime and Ryo do!" she said happily.

Ichigo smiled. 'Of course they do,' he thought. They began to open the doors to enter when she added something to her statement.

"Mommy does too!" she said stopping him in his tracks with a bewildered look. But he wasn't stopped long due to her hand continuing to pull him through the door.

"Nozomi!" the mother yelled, grabbing her daughter and throwing her into an intense hug. "What were you thinking leaving the café by yourself!" she said pulling away to look her daughter in the eyes, with the worry evident in her voice.

"There was someone calling for help, mommy. I went to help them," she said softly with tear filled eyes. "Are you mad at me?" she added with a quivering lip.

Rukia's chest fell. She looked at Nozomi and then smiled, leaning her forehead against hers. "No. Just never do it again. You had me worried to death. I don't know what I would do if something happened you."

"I'm sorry," Nozomi said softly.

"It's okay," Rukia said kissing her on the forehead.

"Can I go play with Ryo now?" Nozomi said wiping away the tears that never fell.

Rukia smiled, "Yes, you can go play with Ryo now." The little girl smiled and ran off.

Rukia stood up and saw Ichigo leaning against the wall, talking to Orihime and Uryuu. She walked straight over and didn't even care if they were talking. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug.

His eyes grew and his mouth fell open. His arms were just held there in midair as he was too shocked to react. He looked at Uryuu and Orihime and he believed their expressions mirrored his at that moment.

"Thank you," she said softly. He felt her soft breath flow across the skin on his neck, causing a shiver down his spine.

He finally moved his arms and wrapped them around her body. "Anytime," he said softly with a small smile.

"What's going on here?" Ren said irritated.

Rukia pulled away and looked at Ren with a glare of disbelief. "I'm thanking the man that found my daughter, Ren."

"Well it probably wasn't that hard to do. I doubt that kind of thanking is necessary," he said crossing his arms and furrowing his eyebrows.

She walked over to Ren and continued to glare. "Well if it wasn't that hard how come you didn't find her, Ren? How come her own mother couldn't find her?" she said raising her voice.

"It's not _my_ fault you're too irresponsible to keep track of her!" he said raising his voice to be even with hers.

Rukia's eyes went wide for only a second, and then she did it. She threw her fist at him, nailing him right in the cheekbone.

It was a good thing that there weren't any customers at the moment due to the storm outside because that would have created quite a scene. Kin, Shina, Uryuu, Orihime and Ichigo all watched with their mouths hanging open. Ryo and Nozomi were upstairs in the apartment.

"Get out," Rukia demanded through gritted teeth.

"Rukia, I'm so-" Ren began with a hand over his bruised face.

"Get the hell out of my home!" she yelled with her fists clenched at her sides.

He looked into her enraged eyes for a moment, but then nodded and walked out of the building without another word.

Rukia dropped her head towards the floor. Her hair fell from her shoulders and blocked the view to her face.

"Rukia?" Orihime asked, walking the five feet over to her. She put a hand on one of Rukia's shoulders.

Rukia lifted her head up slowly. "I'm fine," she said with the smallest smile. Her eyes said anything but that though.

Then, like nothing could possibly make the night worse, a crash of thunder was heard outside and the lights dispersed.

"_Fantastic_," Rukia said with pure sarcasm.

* * *

"I've got the candles!" Kin said stumbling from the kitchen with lit candles. 

"What, so you can burn the whole building down?!" Rukia said running over to him and steadying him.

Shina came following behind him. "And I've got what normal people would get in this situation," she said waving around a few flashlights.

"People still use candles!" he yelled back in defense.

Shina walked up and draped an arm around his shoulders, "Only in the Amish Country, Kin," she said kissing him on the cheek.

His eyes grew wide and a goofy smile was so obvious on his face.

"Alright, nobody's going home tonight. I've got two extra rooms upstairs and a couch. Let's go," Rukia said with no charisma, turning around towards the stairs.

"I can make it back to my hotel in no time," Ichigo said beginning to walk towards the doors.

Rukia turned around and walked towards Ichigo, grabbing his wrist to get his attention, "And risk you drowning? What kind of person would I be if I did that?"

He turned to see her eyes hiding so much. They pleaded for him to stay, but they showed much more. So much that he knew no one else had any idea about.

"Please, stay."

His amber eyes showed the most understanding she had seen in years. She didn't know why, but everything about the look he was giving her made her feel safe; like there _was_ someone in this world that _could_ relate to her.

"Well," he began.

"It's the least I could do for what you've done for me these past few days," she said, giving the wrong reason of why she wanted him to stay.

He gave a soft smile and nodded.

"Okay everyone. Upstairs," she commanded turning around and leading them to the apartment.

"Mommy!" Rukia heard from upstairs.

"I'm coming, sweetheart!" she said jogging up the stairs.

* * *

When they all got upstairs, Ichigo was surprised that it was in fact a pretty large apartment. 

"So how are we splitting up the rooms?" Shina asked interested. She was smirking at Rukia because she knew one way or another someone was going to be uncomfortable.

"I'll take the couch," Ichigo said simply.

"Are you sure? I'll take it if you want," Kin said to Ichigo.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at his stupidity and grabbed him by the shirt to pull him closer while the others were talking to each other. "There are two extra rooms. One for Orihime and Uryuu, and _another one_," Ichigo said pronouncing the last two words more efficiently.

Kin's face suddenly turned red and his mouth dropped. Ichigo smirked and gave him a pat on the back. "I'll take the couch. It looks pretty comfy," Ichigo said again to the whole group.

"Okay, so Kin and Shina can share a room, Orihime and Uryuu can have the other, Ryo can share with Nozomi and Ichigo will be on the couch," Rukia said receiving nods from everyone.

"Mommy, can we have a bedtime story?" Nozomi asked pulling on Rukia's shorts with Ryo next to her.

"Yeah, sure," Rukia said smiling down at the kids.

"Hey Ruk, you mind if we tell it?" Orihime asked suggesting Uryuu and herself do the job.

"Uh, no. Go ahead," Rukia said simply before bending down and kissing her daughters forehead.

"Night, mommy," Nozomi said running off to her room with Ryo right behind her. Uryuu and Orihime followed slowly.

"Well we've got class early, so we better hit the hay," Shina said smirking.

Kin followed her as they walked to a room. "I'll sleep on the floor," he said sheepishly.

Shina chuckled, and you could hear her voice from the room, "Kin, you're so shy!"

Ichigo smirked from the couch, "That a boy," he said softly, then noticing that Rukia had gone into her room and he was alone.

'Do they seriously expect me to sleep?' he thought. He decided to get up and eavesdrop on the storytelling. He stood at the slightly cracked door and peered in, listening to the conversation.

"No scary stories! The thunder scares me already," Nozomi said holding her sheet to her chest in her bed. Ryo nodded in agreement and copied Nozomi's actions.

"Can you continue with that story you've been telling us for a long time?" Ryo asked his parents.

"Yep! That's what we were planning. But again, you can't tell Rukia," Orihime said, receiving eager nods from the children.

"Where did we leave off?" Uryuu asked.

"Hollows stopped coming!" Ryo said excitedly.

"Oh right!" Uryuu said.

"Oh! It's coming!" Orihime said sadly with her hand over her heart.

"What's coming?!" Nozomi asked urgently.

"Don't ruin the story, honey," Uryuu said before turning back to the children. "So a meeting took place and the shinigami told their human friends that there wasn't a need for them to be in the living world anymore. Sadness overcame everyone. But the two that seemed to be hit with the feeling more were the ones who've been together since the beginning," Uryuu said sadly.

"Reika and Ichizo!" the two children yelled in unison.

"Yep," Orihime said sadly. "Ichizo was so angry because Reika was accepting it without a fight. He stormed off and Reika went off after him. You see, everyone knew that these two had deep feelings for each other but the two couldn't see it themselves. And now that they were going to be separated, their hearts were breaking without them totally realizing it."

'Damn that's one sad bedtime story,' Ichigo thought as he saw the sad faces of the children. He then heard a murmur from a room down the hall. 'That has to be Rukia's room," he thought slowly walking towards the almost closed door.

He leaned his head against the door and heard something he didn't expect; sobbing; soft, uncontrollable sobbing. His heart broke just listening to it. He subconsciously began to push the door open and saw the petite raven haired woman leaning against the wall on her side.

All that image of her did was make him want to go over to her and hold her in his arms to make all her worries or fears wither away. In fact, that's what he did. He gently pulled her away from the wall without her seeing him yet and pulled her into his chest for a tight embrace.

She was more than surprised and she opened her crying eyes slightly to see who had affectionately started to hold her. There was still no power, so she only had one candle in her room, which was on the far corner in the room. But that light was just enough to shine and reflect his flame-like hair. As soon as she saw it, she leaned into him even more.

They had ended up sitting on the floor and after about five minutes of her crying into his chest, she finally leaned back and looked up into his eyes, which were even stronger amber in the candlelight.

"So… want to talk about it?" Ichigo said in an understanding tone and handing her a tissue box that he saw on the end table.

"Isn't it obvious?" Rukia asked simply taking a tissue and blowing her nose.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I know, but you never know these days. You could have forgotten another wedding and had another rose nightmare," he said smirking, trying to lighten the mood.

She chuckled. "No, it's not that," she said smiling slightly. "I almost lost my daughter today," she said sadly. "What kind of parent loses their own kid?" she felt her lip begin to tremble again.

"Hey, it happens all the time," he said softly. She looked at him with a look that said, 'Stop lying.' "Seriously! It happens! And when the parents find them they feel the exact same way you are feeling right now. And then they're all over protective until their kid is married. It's the circle of life," he said as if it was nothing.

Rukia chuckled and then there was a moment of silence before she spoke. "But he said it was my fault…"

Ichigo's eyes went wide. He knew exactly what she meant. Now he realized one of the emotions he saw in her eyes earlier; pain. Ren's words hit her like salt in a wound that was so freshly made. 'Why was she trying so hard to hide it?' he thought watching her sit in front of him on the floor with her head looking down.

"What he said was bullshit. He doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. He deserved that knock out punch you gave him, which by the way, I never saw that coming. Maybe a slap, but never thought you'd straight up slug him," he said with a smile.

"Well I'm not as dainty as most people thing. But I think I might have overreacted. He was right," she said with her voice fading at the end.

"No, he wasn't. You're a good person," he said firmly.

"Yeah, sure. Being a bad mother makes you a good person," she said sarcastically with her head still bowed and her hair dangling forward.

"You are," he said even more firmly.

"How would you know?" she said softly.

He leaned over the small distance away and pulled her head up with his hand under her chin. "Because what bad person or mother would be crying right now over losing their daughter?" he said with sincerity in his voice and eyes that looked like they could see through your very soul.

_Saying I love you,  
Is not the words,  
I want to hear from you,  
It's not that I want you,  
Not to say but if you only knew,  
How easy,  
it would be to show me how you feel,_

She didn't know what came over her, but everything about this man made her heartbeat faster. He barely knew her and he was in here not even a minute after she started crying. He's been there for her in many ways and something inside her was screaming to get out.

_More than words,  
is all you have to do,  
to make it real,  
Then you wouldn't have to say,  
that you love me,  
Cause I'd already know,_

He was fully shocked to see that the woman he had been falling hard for had easily moved in and planted her lips directly on his for one of the most passionate kisses he could have ever dreamed of. He gladly accepted her invitation and forcibly kissed back. His hands glided from her cheeks to her slender shoulders, and then down to her hips.

_What would you do,  
if my heart was torn in two,_

_More than words to show you feel,  
That your love for me is real,_

_What would you say,  
if I took those words away,_

_Then you couldn't make things new,  
Just by saying I love you,_

His hands felt so good on her body. It had been a long time since she had been with someone who touched her this way. Well, when she thought about it, no one ever made her feel _this way_ when they touched her. It was amazing. Her skin was tingling from his touch and it only made her want more.

_It's more than words,  
It's more than what you say,  
It's the things you do,  
oh yeah,  
It's more than words,  
It's more than what you say,  
It's the things you do,  
oh yeah,_

He couldn't stop his hands from leaving her body. It was like they had a mind of their own. He began to pull her up and finally they were standing. 'Oh shit. Am I taking advantage? She _did_ kiss me first, but still. She's vulnerable right now,' he thought. He began to hesitate with his movements, but she pushed him up against the wall with her hands against his chest and her lips even more forceful.

_Now that I've tried to,  
talk to you and make you understand,  
All you have to do,  
is close your eyes,  
And just reach out your hands,  
and touch me,  
Hold me close don't ever let me go,_

There was no way he was going to stop now. She wanted this. She didn't understand fully _why_ she wanted it because there was still something hidden, but still. She felt him nibble on her bottom lip for an entrance, in which she gladly invited him. His tongue danced in her mouth, making her fingers push firmly against his chest. He took this opportunity to pull her up into the air, causing her legs to wrap around his waist. She tugged at his shirt and quickly pulled it over his head and threw it across the room in some direction. He walked slowly towards her bed.

_More than words,  
is all I ever needed you to show,  
Then you wouldn't have to say,  
that you love me,  
Cause I'd already know,_

He leaned down and placed her gently on the bed, as he crawled on to the bed moving on top of her. Her fingers reached down and unfastened his shorts' button and fly in record time. Her hands then slid up and felt what seemed to be, perfectly carved muscles on his chest and abdomen as his mouth slid down to her neck. His fingers began to unbutton her shirt slowly. When he finished, his hands gracefully glided across her flat stomach. Their bodies were aching for each other.

_What would you do,  
if my heart was torn in two,_

His mouth moved back to her lips as one hand slid down to her jean shorts' button. He easily undid it and slowly unzipped her fly as their mouths continued to be ventured by the other.

"Mommy!" Nozomi yelled from her room in a frightened tone. Ichigo then stopped and slowly lifted his face away from hers. His ambers pierced into her violets. He then gave an understanding smile and rolled off from on top of her. She leaned up and quickly began to button her top and then her pants. She got off the bed and walked towards the door with Ichigo sitting on the side of the bed looking towards the floor. She looked at him in disappointment but then quickly walked back over without him noticing and kissed him on the cheek before exiting the room without seeing him respond. He couldn't help but smile as he began to put his shirt back on.

_More than words to show you feel,  
That your love for me is real,  
What would you say,  
if I took those words away,  
Then you couldn't make things new,  
Just by saying I love you…_

* * *

He waited a few minutes before moving. In a way he was glad they had stopped before going too far. He would rather that have happened when she wasn't crying ten minutes beforehand. But of course part of him liked just how good she felt against him. 

He finally stood up and exited the room. He stopped outside the same door he was listening to before. To his surprise, there was soft singing. And the singing was quite good. He opened the door more and saw Rukia sitting on the side of the bed with a hand brushing Nozomi's hair.

_You're not alone  
Together we stand  
I'll be by your side  
You know I'll take your hand  
When it gets cold  
And it feels like the end  
There's no place to go  
You know I won't give in  
no I won't give in_

Her voice was so angelic. He felt like the beautiful sound could make any fear be conquered or any tear of sadness be turned into any tear of joy. And as fast as it was found, the voice stopped after hearing the creak from the opening door.

Her head turned to see him in the doorway. She could see he was shocked to be caught so soon. She leaned down and kissed her sleeping daughter on the forehead and walked towards the door, where she shut it quietly.

"What were you singing just now?" Ichigo asked with his hands in his pockets.

"Oh nothing. Just something I always sang to Nozomi when she was a baby. I sing it when she's afraid," she said leaning her back against the wall in the hallway.

"It sounded beautiful," he said gently.

Her violet eyes grew wide. "T-thank you," she said fumbling with her words as her cheeks went slightly red. 'Thank god for the power being out,' she thought. And then, as if the day could be any worse, the power kicked on, revealing her blush in all its glory. He smirked noticing it.

"Caught ya off guard?" he asked with a cocky grin.

"_No_," she replied with a glare.

"I think I did from that blush across your cheeks," he stated teasingly.

"Oh yeah?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Well you might want to zip your fly before going out in public," she said smirking.

"Huh?" he said looking down and then back up at her smirking face. It was his turn to blush.

"Caught ya off guard, Kurosaki?" she asked mockingly. She began to walk away to her room as he zipped it up and watched her retreating form. She then looked back, "Night, Ichigo," she said smiling with a wink of her eye.

He continued to watch until she closed her door behind her. He grinned to himself. "Oh, I'll get you back, Miss Kuchiki," he said out loud to himself before heading towards his reserved couch.

* * *

Ichigo rolled over as he felt himself begin to wake up. His back was hurting big time from lying on the couch that wasn't as comfortable as he thought. His back was now facing the back of the couch and he slowly opened his eyes and saw Ishida sitting in a chair two feet away from him. 

"Morning, sunshine," he said sipping a cup of coffee.

"Why are you sitting so damn close and what the hell is the time?" Ichigo mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

"I need to talk to you and six-thirty," he stated.

"What?!" Ichigo exclaimed. "It's way too early for you to be this close!"

"And it's way too early for your hair to be so loud, but we can't do anything about that, can we?" Ishida said with a sarcastic smile as he pushed his glasses up further on his nose.

Ichigo groaned. "And it's too early for hair jokes too," he said flipping over so that he was lying on his stomach. He buried his face into his pillow. "What do you want?" his muffled voice asked.

"I want to know what exactly you and Rukia were doing last night," Ishida said casually taking another sip of his coffee.

Ichigo's back straightened from his statement and he slowly turned his head to the side to look at his friend. "What do you mean?"

"When Orihime and I left the kids' room we heard some interesting noises," he said raising an eyebrow.

Ichigo looked into Ishida's eyes for a moment until he finally looked away and turned his head back into the pillow. "Nothing happened."

"It didn't sound like nothing," Uryuu said smirking.

Ichigo turned his head back to look at him. "Nothing happened, Uryuu. All I did was comfort her." 'I did comfort her. In more than one way…' he thought burying his face back into the pillow.

"Whatever you say, Kurosaki. Whatever you say," Ishida said standing from the chair and walking away.

"Yo, Ichigo! You're playing tonight, right? I spread the word that we had live performances at the café now, so a lot of people are going to show up tonight," Kin said seeing Ichigo's lazy form on the couch.

The orange headed man responded with muffled words, "Yeah, definitely." His mind then clicked and his body shot up. 'I know how to get Rukia back for last night,' he thought with a grin.

* * *

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Well that's that. Any guesses what he plans on doing? I think it's very possibly to guess if you caught the signs I left. Okay. Tell me what your mind is saying to you. I want to hear it! Plus, I want to know how much you love me for staying up all night for you! Anyway. I'm not really sure how long this story with be. I want it to be as long as the first but I don't know. That might be stretching it. We'll see. Review and I'll love you. Later


	6. Keep Holding On

**A/N:** Okay, I haven't updated in awhile, but there's a good reason! Well, not one of you probably give a damn, but I'll tell you anyway thinking some of you might give a rat's ass. So basically my friend wants to be a director and I was giving them support like, "Go for it!" (yeah, I know, sucky supportive thing to say) and then my friend went, "Loveroflove, write me a script." And NO, it does not say 'Loveroflove' on my birth certificate; I just thought you would recognize it was me more if I said that. So anyway, the idea of something I wrote being brought to life made me giddy and I slaved over a total original storyline. It made me sad because since it was a script I couldn't really be so poetic in my writing, because honestly, who says, "The way she walked towards me through the open flowered field made every hair on the back of my neck sway like the beautiful daisies that were nothing compared to this being that made my life pure bliss." I mean, don't get me wrong, it would be so sick if people walked around talking like that because it would be so entertaining and somewhat humorous to hear that kind of talk, but no one does. Okay, imagine the person that said the above quote, okay, got it? Now take someone in the world today. The guy would most likely take a deep swallow and whisper, "Damn." Now THAT'S romantic… hah (major sarcasm). Okay, so back to why I said this, yeah since it was a script I had to focus on dialogue and actions instead of giving a mental picture and using A LOT of emotion, which I usually go for. Although my friend said they got all teary eyed, so I'm guessing it still had a good effect. Anyway, so that's what I've been doing. Now that I'm done with my excuse, which turned into a rant, which I have trouble not doing... I will begin with the next chapter! Forgive me for stalling you from it, but I did what I thought needed to be done.

This chap is after the song, "Keep Holding On," by Avril Lavigne. Yes, that it the name of this story! Wow, you guys are sharp! That sounded a bit cruel, forgive me haha, I'm way too sarcastic. So since this is the name of the story, take extra heed in the lyrics because it has meaning between our main characters. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: It's been another late night for me, or early morning, and I did it just for you guys so how about letting me ignore the disclaimer for one time? Huh?

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* * *

_Chapter 6: Keep Holding On_

Rukia sat at the counter as she thought about what exactly happened last night. Her face was frowning from the fear she felt when she couldn't locate Nozomi, but her face smoothly lifted into a smile as she remembered how Ichigo came walking into the café with her daughter's hand in his. Then her smile quickly turned into a dream look as she remembered the feeling of his hands against her skin. She shivered from the thought. But her mind immediately scolded her for having those thoughts. 'You just met him! You can't just do that kind of thing when you have responsibilities!' She buried her face in her hands and let out a groan.

"Want to talk about?" Orihime asked kindly leaning on the counter.

"There's nothing to talk about, Orihime," she said without lifting her face from her hands.

"Obviously not. I mean, with you slamming your face into your hands and letting out a growl like that, there must be nothing wrong," Orihime said with a smile.

"Since when did you start being sarcastic?" Rukia said lifting her head and glaring.

Orihime ignored her comment, "What could possibly be bothering you?"

"Oh, I don't know! Maybe losing my daughter, having this guy I just met find her, being called a horrible mother by someone close to me, oh and not to mention, I almost slept with a guy I barely know!" Rukia said throwing her hands up in the air.

"Rukia, you have to let this go. It's not your fault! Kids get lost all the time! You're a wonderful mothe- Wait, WHAT?!" Orihime said, jumping when her mind finally processed Rukia's last statement.

Rukia sighed, "I know," she said agreeing to her friend's out burst.

Orihime had trouble forming words. "Well… that was, uh… unexpected," she said leaving them in a moment of silence until Orihime spoke up again. "What do you mean you almost slept with him?"

Rukia looked at her friend with disbelief. "What do you mean, 'What do I mean?'" she exclaimed. "I believe you know what I'm talking about since you've already had one child and are having another one!"

Orihime blushed slightly. "I know what it is!" she yelled quickly to stop where this conversation was going. She sighed, "I meant, why didn't… it… happen?" she asked hesitantly.

Rukia let out a sigh as well, "You're twenty-six years old, Orihime. You shouldn't have a problem saying the word, 'sex'." She saw Orihime avoid eye contact and her cheeks reddened. Rukia smirked and pretend to not see it. "Nozomi had a nightmare last night. She called for me."

Orihime frowned slightly. "That's a shame."

Rukia looked at her surprised. "What do you mean, 'It's a shame'?! I thought you would agree with me that it was a close call!"

"Well- Yeah, I guess, but-" Orihime didn't know where she was going with this. In her mind, it would have been all right. It _was_ Ichigo and Rukia. It was just… right."

"Orihime! You told me to go extremely slow with Ren and so I have for the past five years. Well, except for the beginning, but that was… different. And now you are saying it's a shame that I didn't sleep with a guy I've only known for less than a week?!" Rukia was now yelling quite loud and causing a scene for a few reasons. One, her friend wasn't supporting her the way she wanted her to right now. Two, she believed she got carried away last night and can't believe _how_ she got carried away so easily. Three, she got into a fight with Ren and hadn't talked to him since yesterday after she made him eat her fist. And finally four, she was still trying to get over the fact that she almost lost her daughter.

"Well, it's not _that_ ridiculous," Orihime said trying to calm her down.

"How is it not that ridiculous?! I can't believe you are saying this to me!" Rukia said waving her arms around in the air in frustration.

"What I'm saying makes more sense than you'll ever know," Orihime said softly, with a hint of sadness.

"What the hell does that even mean?! Can you just say what you want to straight out?!" Rukia yelled back with her eyes piercing into her friends and her eyebrows arched.

"It's different when it comes to you two!" Orihime surprisingly yelled back. She had had enough of being yelled at. Orihime knew that most of this anger wasn't triggered by her, just being aimed at her. She was fine letting her friend vent out, but it went too far for Orihime's liking. She couldn't tell her friend anything, yet she couldn't let this continue making her look like a terrible person.

Rukia continued to stare deeply into her friend's eyes, only now shock was seen due to Orihime's outburst. Her voice was softer now, but firm. "What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

Orihime's posture then relaxed. She had slipped up and couldn't cover it up this time. So the only thing she could do was sheepishly reply. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."

Rukia's hard expression fell. "No. You shouldn't be. I was being an ass and taking all my anger out on you. I'm sorry."

Orihime nodded with a smile. Rukia continued, "I mean so many things have happened in the past few days and then I had this weird dream last night…"

"Dream?" Orihime questioned.

"Yeah. It was so strange. I couldn't see anything very clearly. It was all fuzzy, but I could hear voices perfectly."

**-Flashback-**

"_They think this is the best way! I don't know what to think about it. Part of me doesn't want to forget a single thing, yet another part of me is not wanting to remember if it will only cause me pain," she said, the pain evident in her voice._

"_Rukia," a man said sternly, but Rukia cut in. "I know that you're probably not going to show up tomorrow, just because that's the way you are and you can't face things like this. So I'm going to tell you now, even though after tomorrow night you won't remember any of this. Since the first day we met, you've been there to protect me. We fought all the time about stupid things, we still do actually, but you always cared about what happened to me even though you never showed it."_

"_Rukia-" he said._

"_No. Let me finish. You were always there for me, whether I asked for it or not. I just want to say 'thanks'. For everything. Can you- can you just do me one favor?" she said looking hopeful in his reply._

_He stared back at her, interested in what he possibly could do for her. "What?"_

"_Be happy. Don't live your life with that scowl always on your face. Enjoy it, - every moment of it." She gave him a soft smile as a lone tear slid down her cheek. Then, she turned around grabbing the door handle._

_He reached out and grabbed her other arm's wrist causing her to swirl around. Wondering what else he could want. "Stay with me tonight," he said with confidence in his eyes._

**-End Flashback-**

"It was just… weird," Rukia said after thinking about the dream she had last night.

"What was it about?" Orihime pushed curiously.

"I was in a room with someone; a guy. It was like we were saying goodbye or something," she said pausing as she pondered about the event. "It doesn't matter though. Just a stupid dream," Rukia said turning to wipe the counter.

This made Orihime feel uneasy. She knew that could have been just a dream. For all she knew, it could have been some random guy in her dream. But she had that gut feeling. It was as if something was telling her this was much more than a dream.

She began to open her mouth when Shina called from across the room. "Orihime! Can you help me out with this table?"

Orihime nodded and began to walk towards her, looking back at Rukia with pity in her eyes, and then continuing to the table.

* * *

"Ichigo! You went back to sleep?!" Kin yelled seeing the orange headed man sprawled out on the couch. 

The said man groaned and rolled over, "Can't a guy get a decent amount of sleep?" he asked grumpily.

"It's four fifty! How can you possibly still be tired? It's almost dinnertime!" Kin exclaimed.

Ichigo scratched his orange locks. "Damn, that is late," he said with a chuckle.

"Well come on. Let's go. You have to start playing in ten minutes!"

Ichigo then became alert. "Oh shit!" he jumped up.

"Go take a shower," Ishida said without looking at him from a table in the kitchen as he read a newspaper.

"Yeah, Ichi! You stink!" Nozomi exclaimed as both she and Ryo plugged their nose.

Ichigo smirked at the children, and then looked at Kin, who pointed in the direction of the bathroom. He nodded and darted for the shower.

He took a fast hot shower and wiped the foggy mirror as he tried to see his reflection. But when he looked at himself, he thought he saw something strange; something swirling around in one of his eyes. He blinked a few times and then leaned closer, wiping the mirror even more. But that time when he looked, there was nothing. He sighed and continued to get ready.

* * *

Ichigo was clean now and felt good. Kin threw his clothes in the dryer with fabric softener, so his clothes would reek. He was content. 

He walked past Ishida still reading the newspaper and the kids who were finishing their cereal. He then noticed the vase of purple tulips on the table. He smiled at the gift he had given Rukia a few days ago and then made his way downstairs.

* * *

Rukia just finished giving an elderly woman a bouquet of flowers when her mind began to wander again. She continued to torment herself for everything that had happened. Finally, she stopped focusing on the others and for once thought about Ren. 

'How did we end up so distant? We have always been close; been able to understand each other's feelings. So why was he acting like such an inconsiderate ass yesterday?' she thought sadly.

**-Flashback-**

_She felt so free. There was no one there that she knew; that knew her; that she was at all connected to. She felt no burden being there. To her, being a shinigami was nothing glamorous. Of course she did her job well; it was her duty after all. It's just that nothing ever happened. She had been a shinigami for about a century and everything stayed the same as far as she knew._

_She had come to the living world years ago and surprisingly made friends with some humans, who turned out to have powers of their own. That was the highlight of her life. Nothing extremely dangerous ever happened and it looked as if that was never going to change. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just that a life without tragedy leaves a life without emotion. One cannot be truly happy if they never experience the pain of suffering. They may be content, but it will lack appreciation._

_She needed to get away from that emotionless life. She wanted to experience something worthwhile, even if it meant breaking the law and abandoning Soul Society. So she left. She left a town that she considered more of a home than the manor she inhabited in Soul Society. But something seemed to be lacking. Although Karakura Town seemed like the home she always dreamed of, something was missing. She figured if she hadn't found it by then, it wasn't there to be found. So there she was; wandering the sidewalks of a town that she saw potential in._

_It was already seven at night. She continued to walk. She observed the buildings she passed. One seemed to be an electronic store. It was small, but through the window she could see that many customers were inside. She continued to walk. She then passed an empty building. It looked like it had long gone out of business; whatever it was that was in there. She looked through the window for a moment longer before continuing to walk._

_She eventually reached a rowdy building and she curiously stopped to look inside. It was a bar. It wasn't anything too shabby, it was actually quite nice. She figured while she was here, why not have a drink? Her life at the moment called for an adventure. _

_She sat down on a stool. The female bartender looked at her, expecting an order. "Start me off with a double shot of Jack Daniels." _

_The bartender raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? From your size it looks like after that you'll end up passed out."_

_She smiled, "I can hold my liquor better than most people think." The bartender shrugged and proceeded to get the order._

_With a quick twitch of her wrist, she dumped the liquor into her mouth and swallowed. She pushed the empty glass toward the bartender and gave a firm nod._

"_Something must have happened to you in order for you to actually want to get that drunk," a man next to her said plainly._

_She turned to look at him, "You couldn't be more wrong. Nothing has happened to me. I want something to happen, so… I'm changing it up a bit," she said in determination as the bartender slid her order. _

"_Well at least there is reasoning behind it," he chuckled. He held out his hand, "Ren Hyogo."_

_She smiled and shook the offered hand, "Rukia Kuchiki." She then downed the glass._

_Two orders later. Rukia was slurring her words all over the place._

"_Rukia, you've had plenty to drink. Do you know how many shots 4 double shots are?" he asked testing her._

"_Five, s-s-s-silly!" she said laughing and ready to order another round. _

"_No, no! I think she's done," Ren said to the bartender._

"_Buts-s I'm fine, Ren-n-n-n-n-n!" Rukia pouted for permission._

"_Rukia, you can't even do simple math. You've had eight shots of J.D. and your size doesn't help."_

_She huffed, "Why you care what I do?" she said, not being able to say full sentences anymore._

"_Your life can't be so bad that you have to drink yourself into a coma. Come on, I'll take you to the hotel down the street," he said standing up and paying the bartender for himself and Rukia. He began to grab her arm, but she pulled away hastily._

"_I'm not-a goin' to s'a hotel with-a you!" she tried to resist._

"_I'm not leaving here for you to get even more drunk or let some guy take advantage of you. Come on," he said softly. "Trust me."_

_She looked at him questionably, but then grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the bar._

_

* * *

_

_She clung to his arm for balance as they walked on the sidewalk. "Yous know Ren, thanks god yous seems likes a nice guy, otherwise I could easily be takens advantage."_

_He smiled politely down at her, "I wouldn't do that to you."_

_She smiled back, but then frowned. "Whys not? Am I nots good enough for you," she ended with a hiccup._

"_No, that's not it," he said surprised by her twist in the conversation. "It's just-"_

_She interrupted. "I'll shows yous what you're missin'!" she said pulling him down into a forceful kiss. His eyes went wide as hers were tightly shut. The shock left him and he leaned in to it._

_They parted and she had a goofy grin on her face. "I likes you, Ren."_

_She smiled down at her, "Yeah, I like you too." Suddenly, her grip on his arm went tighter and then loosened as she fell towards the ground. _

_Ren moved fast and wrapped his arm around her waist before she hit the concrete. She was passed out cold. There was no way he could bring her to a hotel and leave her. So he decided to take her back to his apartment where he could make sure nothing happened to her._

_

* * *

_

_The next morning, Rukia woke up with her head pounding like it was a rock concert speaker. She groaned and turned over on what she had just realized to be a bed. She then sat up a little to fast, which made her dizzy. She looked around to identify her surroundings. Then, beside her, lying on top of the bed was Ren. He was sleeping._

_She quietly got up and went in search for the bathroom. She opened one door, which turned out to be a closet. She then opened another, which ended up being the front door and an old lady stared at her questionably. Rukia waved and shut the door. 'Where the hell is the bathroom?!' she yelled in her head as she fought her stomach for control._

_She opened one more door and was victorious. _

_She wiped her mouth and leaned against the wall on the floor next to the toilet. She closed her eyes and leaned her head up on the wall. 'Oh please god. Tell me I didn't do anything with Ren last night. Please, please, please,' she begged silently._

_She walked out of the bathroom and saw Ren cooking in the kitchen. He turned around and smiled. "Breakfast?" he said motioning towards the scrambled eggs in the frying pan._

_Rukia gagged and threw a hand over her mouth causing Ren to chuckle. "I figured as much. How about I just give you some coffee?"_

_Rukia nodded and smiled sweetly. She sat down at a table where he placed a mug. "Why are you being so nice?" she asked curiously as she gripped the mug._

_He smiled, "Would you rather me be mean?"_

"_No it's just that-"_

"_I'm just being 'me'. You need help so I'm lending you a hand. I've only known you for less than a day, but I can tell you deserve better than a night of kamikaze drinking."_

_She smiled at him, "Thank you."_

_

* * *

_

_They had spent a week together and were growing attached. They enjoyed each other's company and Rukia felt like this could possibly be that missing piece she was trying to find._

_But it had been a week since they had met, and she found that her monthly visit was late. She held the tool in her hand as her mouth fell ajar. Everything changed at that moment. She felt the wave of responsibility already upon her and she tried not to get swept in by the undertow. _

_She exited the bathroom with her face still shocked. He was sitting at the table reading a newspaper. He looked up at her, "What's wrong?"_

"_I- I'm… I'm pregnant," she said almost not believing the words she had just said._

_

* * *

_

_She was now walking along the side walk as she thought about where life was going to take her now. Ren had reassured her that everything was going to be all right. He had learned that Rukia had no family, so he told her that he would help her through this._

_Her mind was settling down from all the hectic thinking it had been doing. 'Maybe this is the thing that I need. This is the worthwhile experience that will make my life feel full,' she thought stopping at a building. It was the same building she passed on her first day in town. It was still abandoned, yet she felt a connection with it; like that building was as cold and colorless as her life had been up until then._

_She looked over to see a 'For Sale' sign in the window and smiled._

**-End Flashback-**

Rukia was still smiling thinking about the memory. She and Ren had been so close and now they seemed so distant. 'Why?' she thought frowning.

Who was she kidding? She knew why. He was threatened. Ichigo came barging into her life a few days ago and Ren saw him as a threat. He was irritated on how she seemed to act around Ichigo and then he finally snapped; wanting to make her upset because of how he was feeling about it all. She understood it clearly. What she didn't understand was why Ichigo was a threat. Why was she being drawn to him when there was still so much about him she had no idea about?

"Excuse me," a man asked breaking her out of her thoughts. "Can I get this wrapped up so I can take it home?"

She smiled after realizing what was going on. "Yeah, sure. No problem."

* * *

It was eight o'clock now and he had been playing a great show. More and more people kept showing up through the night. The café was crowded. You would have thought that they never heard music before in their life. 

Ryo and Nozomi were enjoying the show on stage, a few feet behind Ichigo, while Ishida, Orihime and Shina sat at a table near the front of the stage. Kin and Rukia were working. Somebody had to serve all those customers.

"Okay, so up until now I've taken many requests," Ichigo began as he sat on a stool with the guitar on his lap. "But for the next song, I'm making a request of my own," he said with a smirk. He had caught everyone's attention with his announcement; everyone except one, who was delivering a drink to one of her tables.

"Rukia Kuchiki, could you please come up on stage?" he asked grinning. She had just placed down the drink and her eyes went wide. She looked up at him.

Everyone began to clap and cheer. "I-I'm busy working," she said as an excuse.

"I'll cover for you," Shine said smirking.

"No, really its fine," Rukia said glaring at Shina to stop.

Ichigo smiled even more, "Come on. Everyone wants to see you come up here." And it was true. The crowd wasn't just a bunch of random people. They were people she had grown to know very well and were friends with.

The crowd cheered her to go on, and then she saw her daughter and Ryo jumping up and down and clapping. She smiled and then sighed as she made her way on to the stage.

"Okay, now that we got her up here," Ichigo said into the microphone stand. He then pushed the stand to be directly in front of her. Her eyes went wide in understanding.

She took a step back, "Oh no, no, no."

Ichigo grabbed her arm and put his hand over the microphone to block their conversation. He looked her in the eyes. "What are you afraid of?"

She had trouble letting words come out of her mouth due to his intense gaze into her eyes. His amber eyes seemed to be melting her, but more importantly, they were calming her. She was slowly forgetting why she couldn't do this.

"You have an amazing voice. Just sing the song that you sing to Nozomi. I'll play along with whatever fits," he said trying to hide how her beautiful violet eyes were taking his breath away.

She took a deep breath, "You're only doing this to get me back for your embarrassment last night," she said with a slight attitude.

Ichigo let go of her as she approached the microphone. He held the guitar in his hands and laughed. "That's true, but I also just want to hear you sing again."

She blushed slightly. She then gave him a nod and he began to play the guitar to a nice melody to what he believed went well with what he heard last night.

No one noticed that Ren had walked quietly into the café as Rukia was about to sing.

_You're not alone  
Together we stand  
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand  
When it gets cold  
And it feels like the end  
There's no place to go  
You know I won't give in  
No I won't give in_

Rukia looked over at Ichigo, who smiled back at her and gave her a reassuring nod to keep going. She smiled and felt more confident as she went into the chorus.

_Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

The intensity of the song went back down as she went into the next verse. She saw Nozomi smiling happily at her mother singing the all too familiar song. Ichigo couldn't help but stare enthralled at the woman next to him.

_So far away  
I wish you were here  
Before it's too late, this could all disappear  
Before the doors close  
And it comes to an end  
With you by my side I will fight and defend  
I'll fight and defend  
Yeah, yeah_

For some reason the words to this song were hitting Ichigo harder than he would have possibly thought. His chest felt heavy for some reason, but he kept playing. He would kill himself if he messed up her performance.

_Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

Rukia felt like something inside her was screaming to come out. She didn't know what this feeling was, but she used its strength to go into the bridge.

_Hear me when I say, when I say I believe  
Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny  
Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

When she first came up with the song, she didn't understand where all the words came from. It was something deep down inside her that she could never figure out.

_Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

She felt the song moving through her. It made her feel alive. She couldn't even remember the last time she felt so alive. She felt like she was in her own world, yet there seemed to be someone else with her; she just couldn't put her finger on it.

_Keep holding on  
Keep holding on_

Rukia then turned her head slightly as her eyes locked with Ichigo's. They smiled as they didn't cut their gaze on each other. Rukia then went into the last bit of the song.

_There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

Ichigo hit a last chord and ended the song. It was a beautiful performance. He was in awe of the woman staring back at him. The crowd roared, but they didn't alter their gaze.

Ren saw this. And without saying a word, he turned around and walked out.

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Well, I feel pretty good about this chapter. I don't know why. I really don't. Hah. But its one of the few times I didn't say something like I wasn't satisfied, or whatever. So you learned how Ren and Rukia met, that Rukia's having memories through her dreams, and that something is up with Ichigo. (Well I hope you caught the Ichigo part, otherwise I just gave something away, haha) So forgive me if there are any grammar errors or anything because I didn't proofread. It would have taken longer to get this chap out to you, so I figured you could deal with some errors. So, please review! I feel like I'm going to cry if you don't. It's 5:09, no 5:10 AM and I would appreciate the love right about now. So until next time, later.


	7. Goodbye My Lover

**A/N:** Hey guys! Fast update for me lately, huh? I know, I was excited about it too! I want to tell you that I have been waiting to do this chapter since the start of this story. This song fits so well at the part it's scary. It gave me goosebumps. Try to listen to it at the suggested spot. So the song is, "Goodbye My Lover," by James Blunt. So, here it is. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Shut it.

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* * *

_Chapter 7: Goodbye My Lover_

They were still staring into each other's eyes. The applause seemed distant, like they were slowly being moved into a space where nothing existed except for them. Finally, Rukia snapped out of her hypnotism.

"There. Happy now?" she said with a hint of attitude and crossing her arms over her chest.

Ichigo continued staring at her with the same intensity as before. "I told you, you have an amazing voice."

She looked back into his eyes, trying to figure out exactly what he was thinking at that moment. She had tried to lessen the tension in the air with her last comment, but he pulled them right back into the space she wanted to escape from; that space that she had come to fear the most. She needed to end this. Ichigo was a total stranger. There was no way she should choose Ichigo, out of anyone, over Ren. So this needed to come to an end.

"Ichigo, I-" Rukia began before getting interrupted by perky Orihime.

"Rukia! You were wonderful!" she yelled in excitement as she embraced Rukia on stage.

"Uh, thanks Orihime," Rukia said sheepishly, delivering a small smile.

"Mommy! You were great!" Nozomi yelled running full speed at her mother.

Rukia squatted down and engulfed her daughter with her arms as she almost fell over from the impact Nozomi made. "Thanks honey," she said kissing her forehead.

Nozomi quickly pulled away. "I made you a picture!" she said grinning from ear to ear.

Rukia smiled, "Oh yeah? Can I see?" she asked curiously.

Nozomi nodded urgently. "I'll go get it!" she said running away and grabbing Ryo's arm as she passed him to make him follow.

Rukia smiled as she watched her daughter excitedly run off. Orihime was still watching and she smiled as Rukia stood back up. "Come on. I want to talk to you," she said grabbing Rukia's wrist and pulling her off stage. Rukia looked back at Ichigo who was tuning his guitar and getting ready to keep the entertainment going.

He was having a surprisingly hard time tuning his instrument. He couldn't believe it. 'Why in the hell are my hands shaking?!' he thought in frustration. 'I'm seriously losing it. How can she have that much of an effect on me?' he shook his head back and forth, trying to forcefully remove the thoughts.

He then strummed, hearing the beautifully tuned strings. He began to play a song, but looked up from the instrument only to stare straight at her. She was leaning on the counter in the back talking to Orihime. Her hand was subconsciously making a beat that went with his strumming. Her other hand swept some lose strands of hair behind her ear. He began to smile, but mentally slapped himself. 'Concentrate!' he yelled in his head as he focused on the song and began to sing.

* * *

"I have to ask you some things," Orihime said as Rukia began to get a bad feeling of what exactly her friend was going to ask her. She moved her hand to push some lose strands behind her ear.

"I've been noticing some things and it seems that you…" Rukia found that her friend's voice had slowly decreased in volume until she couldn't hear it anymore. Her vision began to get blurry. She repeatedly blinked until her surroundings were not what they started out to be.

It was strange. Rukia was in her café talking to Orihime, and then suddenly she is in some strange place that looked like a park. She looked around and was startled by what she found; it was her. She seemed younger, but the weird part is that she was with someone. She couldn't see who it was. Everything about the person was too shady to figure out if it was even a man or woman.

"_Push me,"_ she heard herself say, sitting on a swing.

"_Amused by the most childish things. You'll never change,"_ a male said; the same one she had been hearing for the past few days in her dreams and daydreams.

"_You know it. Plus, you wouldn't want me to,"_ she said nonchalantly.

"_Oh really? How are you so sure?"_ she saw the figure continue to push her on the swing.

There was hesitation in her reply, "_Otherwise you wouldn't continually save me, like you have during all this time I've known you."_ She finished by turning her head slightly to look back at the figure.

"_Just because I save ya doesn't mean I wouldn't mind if ya changed,"_ the man replied with amusement in his voice.

"You know, I was just trying to point out something to you that I appreciated, even though I didn't exactly say it like that-"

Rukia saw the man stop pushing her younger self and grab the chains to steady the swing. He then turned her around by twisting the chain. Rukia could tell that she was surprised by what he did.

"_Well, why didn't you say it __**exactly**__ like that? If you're trying to get a point across to me, you should know by now I can't figure it out through your way of speaking."_

She smiled at the young man slightly, _"You're right. Just, thanks for always watching over me. Even when I tell you I don't need you to. I know I can be stubborn and bitter, but you still stand up for me. Thanks."_ She blushed as the moon was starting to shine brightly in the sky.

Rukia was startled by her younger self. 'Why am I blushing? Who the hell is that guy?!' she thought growing impatient. 'What is all of this?!'

He smiled, _"Ya know what, you're right. I wouldn't have ya any other way."_

Rukia watched as he began to lean closer and closer to her self on the swing. Her eyes went wide. She needed to know who this man was that wasn't just haunting her in her dreams, but when she was wide awake as well. She began to run towards the two. Until she heard another person's voice, causing her to turn around to see who it was.

"_Yo!"_ she heard another man yell, but when she turned around she found herself staring at Orihime back in her café.

"Yo! Rukia. Rukia? Rukia!" Orihime said, seeing Rukia obviously thinking about something else.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry," she said raising one of her hands to her forehead to see if she had a fever. "I must being hallucinating," she said out loud more to herself then Orihime.

"What could you have possibly been thinking about to get you so engrossed like that?" Orihime asked politely.

Rukia sighed and rubbed a temple with the hand she checked her temperature with. "That's just it. I have no idea! It all seems to be of the same damn thing!" she raised her voice in frustration.

"What do you mean?" Orihime squinted at her in curiosity.

Rukia needed to get this off her chest. "For the past few days I've been having weird daydreams and last night's dream was an example of the kind of things I've been dealing with."

Orihime's eyes widened. She remembered what Rukia had told her about the dream. Everything about it was suspicious and made her think of the impossible. But now that Rukia had just told her that she had been having more of those situations, she began to doubt her earlier dismissal. 'Is it really that impossible? They remembered once. They should be able to do it again.' "What is it that's the same in each of these 'daydreams'?" Orihime questioned.

"Well I'm in them, but I'm always with the same person. It's a man. I can't make out his face though. And whenever I seem to say his name, it's all muffled and I can't make it out." Rukia looked down at the counter and saw her hand clenched in a fist. She furrowed her eyebrows. "I just want to understand what the hell these things are and who the hell he is!"

"Rukia, calm down," Orihime said softly, putting her hand gently on her friend's fist.

"Orihime!" Rukia cut in. "These visions or whatever the hell you want to call them seem so real! And I've gotten the clear impression that I was in love with whoever the hell that guy is!"

"Ruki-"

"If these are real, they obviously have happened in the past because I look younger. But how could they be real if I don't remember them?!" Rukia yelled at her friend hoping to find the answer in the next few seconds.

Orihime only stared back into violet eyes. She was calm, but remained giving her paranoid friend a blank, but serious expression.

Rukia began to get suspicious of her best friend. "Orihime, I want you to be completely honest with me." She gave a slight pause. "Was I forced to use a memory-" Rukia began but was interrupted.

"Mommy," Nozomi said in pure disappointment.

Rukia was shocked to be interrupted, but couldn't turn her daughter away when she looked like this. "What is it, sweety?"

Nozomi's face was slightly scrunched up with sadness. "I can't find my picture."

Rukia saw a tear stroll down her face, which caught Rukia by surprise. She leaned off the counter and bent down on her knee, right in front of her daughter. "Hey, it's alright. You can always make another one," she said wiping away the tear's residue on her cheek.

"But I worked so hard on it for you," she said sadly, ending in a sniff.

"Oh honey. It'll turn up eventually," Rukia said pulling her into a tight hug. "Hey," Rukia said pulling back and staring into her daughter's eyes. "What do I always tell you?"

Nozomi sniffed as she pulled one of her hands off her mother's shoulders and wiped her eyes. "I'm much too pretty to cry," she replied with another sniff.

Rukia smiled. "Yes, I _do_ say that, but that's not the part that I was talking about," she chuckled.

Nozomi showed the slightest bit of a smile and wiped her eyes again. "If I'm going to cry, only let one tear fall. Save the rest for a time when you really need them."

Rukia smiled and poked her daughter in the stomach, "Exactly." Nozomi squirmed and giggled from her mother's action.

"Okay. Go play with Ryo. He's been waiting patiently," Rukia said with a soft smile. Nozomi nodded with a smile and ran off.

"Rukia! Shina said she saw Ren come in and then leave after your song. I thought you might want to know," Ishida said running up.

Rukia's eyes went wide and then she quickly stood up and ran for the door. "Thanks Ishida!" she yelled passing him.

* * *

She flew the double doors open and looked urgently in both directions. Then, she believed she saw him in the far distance. She squinted to get a better look. Slowly, she began to walk in that direction not taking her eyes off him. "Ren!" she yelled before starting to run until she halted.

The same mini van that always seemed to catch her off guard, sped past her right before she was about to sprint into the road. That damn driver was literally insane. She let out a cry of frustration. "Whoever said mini vans were one of the safest cars has got to be kidding me!" she yelled in the direction the car had gone. She huffed and looked back to where Ren had been. He was gone now.

* * *

"Uryuu," Orihime said softly, but seriously as she stood where Rukia had left her. He turned to her, awaiting her remark.

"She's having flashbacks," she said plainly.

His eyes went wide, but then immediately went serious. "How do you know?"

"She explained one to me. She also said she's had more of them. All of them had one thing in common."

Ishida stared back into his wife's eyes, waiting for her to answer the question being asked in his head.

"There's a man in every one of them, but she can't see him clearly." There was a pause of silence. "Uryuu, what are we supposed to do? She was about to ask me if she was forced to use a memory modifier!"

Uryuu looked down to the counter, "I- I don't know. We can't tell her, but we can't _not_ tell her. I guess we just have to avoid it all until she remembers on her own."

Orihime frowned and nodded slightly.

* * *

"Okay, that's it for me tonight! Thanks for staying and listening," Ichigo said waving as he walked off the stage. He began to walk towards a small table and sat down. He rested his arms on the table and buried his face into them.

He needed to think. She was in his every thought and he needed to understand it. 'I've never felt so alive before and it's only when I'm around Rukia I feel like this. It's hard to describe exactly what it feels like but it's hard to breathe and my stomach rises up like it's in my throat.' He sighed. 'I can still imagine her lips against mine and her small hands against my chest.' He let a ghost of a smile drift across his face, but it quickly disappeared.

His mind was now plagued with the one thought that made his heart sink down into his stomach. 'She's human; alive. I'm… dead. That kind of thing isn't allowed.' He slowly began to bang his head on the table in aggravation.

"Ichigo?" Orihime said questionably.

He immediately stopped and looked up. Orihime was holding Ryo, who was sleeping in her arms, standing next to Ishida. Orihime spoke again, "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah," Ichigo let a fake smile display on his face.

Ishida raised an eyebrow, seeing that something was bothering him. He didn't push the subject though. "Well, we've got to get going. Got to get Ryo to bed and we have to get up early for work tomorrow."

Ichigo nodded. They family of three then turned to see Rukia at a table on the other side of the café, sitting down with her feet on the table. She was sleeping soundly. Orihime giggled at the site. Ichigo looked to see what they were staring at and a real smile grew subconsciously on his face. He stood up from his seat, but didn't take his eyes off the sleeping woman that he felt so strongly about. "I'll take her upstairs," he said softly.

The couple looked at him surprisingly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You guys go on home."

Orihime smiled at him. "Okay. The place is already closed up so you don't have to worry about it."

He nodded and began to walk towards Rukia.

The three walked towards the exit. "Some things never change, no matter how much has happened," Orihime said as they exited the café.

* * *

Rukia looked around. It happened again. She was seeing something that she knew wasn't just a dream. She was standing in a tower that seemed to look familiar. She continued to look at the walls and then her mind clicked. "This is the Shrine of Penitence…" She looked around again and then found herself lying with that same blurry figure. She was older than the last vision she had. She squinted and listened to what was happening.

"_How is this going to work?"_ she heard herself say to the man.

He answered nonchalantly as their hands seemed to have found each other. They interlocked their fingers and then just began to play with each other's hand as they talked. _"They'll probably position you back in Karakura Town now that this whole Aizen thing is going to be over soon. I mean that's why you left the first time: so the spiritual energy would go down."_

Rukia was confused. "Karakura Town? Aizen?"

Her past self sighed, _"Yeah, I guess. At least I hope,"_ she said softly.

"_Hey,"_ he said grabbing her hand a little more firmly and shaking it to get her attention. _"We'll make this work."_ He smiled looking straight into her eyes. _"I swear I'll make this work."_

She smiled slightly, _"There you go again taking this on like it's a mission or something."_

"I'm acting like I've known him for years. If I do, then why don't I remember him?" Rukia said, needing to know the answer.

"_Well it is a mission,"_ he said lifting his head off her stomach and crawling up to her face, _"A mission to conquer your heart,"_ he said smiling as he pecked her on the lips.

She laughed, _"Wow, that was so corny."_

He laughed again kissing her on her right cheek, _"Corny?"_ He then kissed her left cheek. _"I know you thought it was sexy."_ He then kissed her forehead.

"_I thought it was cute,"_ she paused.

Rukia's eyes went wide as she spoke what she knew were the next words._**"But mostly corny."**_ The past version of herself said it at the same time as her.

"This has to really have happened. How else would I have known what I was going to say next?" Rukia said out loud.

"_Cute?"_ he asked. _"That doesn't really give me that manly feeling I was looking for,"_ he said smirking at her before kissing her neck.

She laughed, _"Better luck next time,"_ she said as he continued to kiss her neck.

"_I'll show you 'next time',"_ he said pulling her into a passionate kiss that lasted for quite some time.

"_Now that was sexy,"_ he said out loud, resting his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. She closed her eyes as well, allowing a goofy smile to form across her face.

Rukia smiled at the obvious happiness she possessed.

Her past self smiled, but it then faded as her thoughts became corrupted. _"My brother,"_ she said out loud.

"_What?!"_ the man said leaning back off her forehead. _"Now is really not the time to be thinking about him, Rukia,"_ he said surprised.

She huffed, "No_. How are we going to deal with him? Or the rest of soul society, for that matter? We'd be breaking the law!"_ her voice was getting louder. _"If we tried to run, they'd come after us and eventually find us and then-"_

"_Rukia,"_ he said softly, placing both his hands on each side of her face, grabbing her complete attention. _"Forget about that now,"_ he said as his thumbs moved back and forth across her smooth, pale cheeks.

"_I can't help it. I don't want anything to happen to you! We've already risked so much for you being here now! Maybe you should g-,"_ she said, starting to slide out from his hover body.

He grabbed her arm and gently pulled her back down, putting his hands back on the sides of her face, "_Right now, just stay with me. Even if it's for only a moment. 'Cause to me, a moment with you will last for a lifetime."_

Her face relaxed from his delicate words, and all she did was nod as a soft smile showed itself across her lips. He then bent down and placed his lips on hers.

Rukia's eyebrows furrowed as her eyes began to water. "He obviously made me happy. So why did I forget? _How_ could I forget?" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Who are you?" she asked softly before opening her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, she wasn't in Soul Society anymore. She was being carried bridal style up the stairs in the back of the café that led to her apartment. She looked up at him. He held her tightly to his body, not in a possessive way, but in a protective way.

Ichigo opened the door, with some difficulty due to his hands being occupied at the moment, and walked through, kicking the door shut behind him.

"Ichigo," she said softly, placing a hand on his chest.

He looked down in surprise. "Oh, you're awake," he said sitting her down in a chair at the table in the kitchen.

"Um, thanks," she said with a smirk and then looked down at her lap.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, yeah. It was no problem." There was a moment of silence, until he spoke again. He began to walk backwards, "I guess I should get goin-"

"Who are you?" she asked innocently, still staring down at her lap. She looked up at him with the most intense gaze he had ever seen. His mouth was even slightly ajar from it.

He walked closer to her again. "What do you mean?" he asked curiously with his hands in his pockets.

She chuckled slightly, but held that same intense stare where he felt that if he said one wrong thing, she would break into a million pieces. "I met you only a few days ago and you've turned my life upside down. Well, it could be a coincidence, but I don't believe in that kind of stuff."

Ichigo was taken back. He wasn't expecting her to say something like that. In fact, he didn't even know what to say to that.

Rukia looked on the table and saw the vase of flowers he had given her and she smiled at them. She then stood up and looked back at Ichigo with her violet eyes shining brightly at him. She started to walk slowly towards him, "For almost six years now, I've felt so lost. I thought I had found myself when I came here. But I only now realized I hadn't. You showed up out of nowhere and I feel like something finally fell into place in my life." She was now standing right in front of him. They were so close to each other now. Every fiber in their bodies was pulling them even closer together.

Ichigo's breath hitched. Here she was saying the things he only dreamed she would say to him. She was right there. Right there in front of him. He could have her; all of her.

Rukia placed her hands against his chest and took one step closer so they were now able to feel each other's breathing. He raised his hands so that they sat on her hips. 'All I want to do is tell her the exact same thing; to lean down and kiss her and never let go. That's all I want,' he thought staring down into her pleading eyes. He found it hard to swallow. 'But I can't,' he slowly pushed her back with his hands on her hips and took a step back himself. "I'm sorry."

She looked at him in surprise. "What's wrong?" she asked confused.

He shook his head and his face showed pain. "I… can't."

"You can't 'what'?" Rukia asked trying to find the reason in his amber eyes, which were avoiding hers.

He swallowed hard. "I can't do this," he said softly, not being able to look at her.

"Why not?" she looked at him with her chest beginning to feel pain she thought she had never felt before, but something inside her was telling her this wasn't the first time.

Ichigo refused to look at her or answer that question. He raised his head and looked off to the side, away from her.

"I know you care about me," Rukia said seeing his eyebrows furrow, but she continued. "I can see it in the way you look at me. I could feel it in the way you kiss me," she said without hesitation.

He was breathing heavily. He closed his eyes tightly, "I… I don't know what you're talking about."

Rukia glared at him as the pain in her chest began to get stronger. "Look at me and say that! Look at me and say you don't care about me! Look at me and say you don't… love me," she said the last sentence with hesitation.

He finally looked down into her eyes. Her violet pools looked as if at any moment they would collapse. Ichigo knew this was one of those moments in life that would cause such a drastic change that nothing could be done afterwards to go and change it back. But there was an order of things; an order of things that couldn't be altered. So he knew what he had to do.

He looked deep into her eyes, "I don't love you." Her heart had fallen at that moment. Her tortured heart had yet again fallen victim to another as prey.

Ichigo had realized at that moment he had broken her. He had a front row seat. Her face remained stern, but he saw the slightest flicker in her eyes. She was a strong woman and to see someone like her become so weak would be heartbreaking in itself.

Rukia blinked and to her dismay, a tear strode down her cheek. She bit down hard and forced herself to swallow without him noticing. She looked down and closed her eyes tightly. "Get out of here, Ichigo," she said softly.

He began to lift his arm up to place an arm on her shoulder, "Rukia."

Her head shot up with tears running down her cheek. "Leave!"

His hand shot back to his side and he walked to the door and opened it. He stood in the doorway without turning around to her and clenched a fist at his side. "I'm sorry," he said softly, and then closed the door behind him.

_Did I disappoint you or let you down?  
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?  
'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun,  
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won._

Ichigo walked slowly down the stairs as he began to feel sick. Everything that just took place seemed so wrong. He was doing the right thing, right? He was a shinigami. She was human. That kind of thing isn't allowed.

_So I took what's mine by eternal right.  
Took your soul out into the night.  
It may be over but it won't stop there,  
I am here for you if you'd only care._

Rukia found it hard to breathe. She backed up against the wall and slowly slid down it until she was curled up on the floor. Why did she feel like this? Why did she care so much? Who was she kidding? She knew why…

_You touched my heart you touched my soul.  
You changed my life and all my goals.  
And love is blind and that I knew when,  
My heart was blinded by you._

Ichigo was getting dizzy. He figured he'd feel terrible after doing this, but this seemed to be unlike anything he had ever felt before. He was down the stairs now and stopped to lean on a table in the café.

_I've kissed your lips and held your hand.  
Shared your dreams and shared your bed.  
I know you well, I know your smell.  
I've been addicted to you._

Rukia looked up and saw the purple tulips on the table. She slowly leaned up and grabbed them. She pulled one out of the vase and brought it close to her face. Her face softened for a moment, but then hardened.

_Goodbye my lover.  
Goodbye my friend.  
You have been the one.  
You have been the one for me._

Her nostrils flared as she glared at the flower in her hands. Then, in an instant, she threw it at the door at the opposite wall and buried her face into hands.

_I am a dreamer and when I wake,  
You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take.  
And as you move on, remember me,  
Remember us and all we used to be_

She looked back up at the vase sitting next to her on the floor. She stared at it for a moment and then threw it as hard as she could at the door. She heard the glass shatter as if it were her own shattered heart.

_I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile.  
I've watched you sleeping for a while.  
I'd be the father of your child.  
I'd spend a lifetime with you._

Ichigo began to stumble his way out of the café, but he found he could barely stand. Damn it, if he knew it was going hurt this badly he would have never done it. There was so much inside of him that was telling him to turn around and go back; go back now before it's too late.

_I know your fears and you know mine.  
We've had our doubts but now we're fine,  
And I love you, I swear that's true.  
I cannot live without you._

She had not begun to weep. She refused to. This wasn't a good enough reason for her. So she just sat there trying to suppress the pain in her chest.

"Mommy?" Rukia heard causing her head to shoot up.

_Goodbye my lover.  
Goodbye my friend.  
You have been the one.  
You have been the one for me._

"What's wrong?" Nozomi asked sadly, sitting on the floor next to her mother.

Rukia tried her best to smile at her daughter. "Nothing, Zomi. I'm fine," she said pulling her daughter closer so that she had her arm around her. Rukia rested her chin on Nozomi's head.

"Mommy?" Nozomi asked again. "Hm?" Rukia replied.

_And I still hold your hand in mine.  
In mine when I'm asleep.  
And I will bare my soul in time,  
When I'm kneeling at your feet._

"I think you've saved enough tears now," she said casually to her mother.

Rukia's breath caught in her throat from her daughter's words. And just like that, she broke completely. She cried furiously as her daughter hugged her tight.

_Goodbye my lover.  
Goodbye my friend.  
You have been the one.  
You have been the one for me._

Ichigo had finally made it out into the open night sky. The area seemed desolate, but Ichigo didn't care to notice as he finally lost his balance and fell to his knees. Then, he felt as if lightning had just shot up his spine and he let out a scream. His hands shot to his face as the screams continued to leave his mouth.

_I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.  
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.  
I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.  
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow._

No one heard his cries; his cries of pain; his cries for control. But if you looked carefully through his out stretched fingers on his face, you could see his eyes; black as night, but gold as the sun.

* * *

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So anyone love how the song was saying "I'm so hollow" and then Ichigo's hollow was taking over? I loved that. I thought it was sick. So yes, tell me my friends, what is your mind saying to you? Anything? Well if it is, please type it into the review box!

Also, I've realized that I don't really thank you guys enough. Made me feel bad. So here I am now! All of you that have been with me since the beginning I want to thank you. And for those of you that have just come aboard, welcome! And thanks for joining up! So here I am giving you love because I enjoy doing this for you. And it means a lot to me that you guys like it. So thanks. Later


	8. Animal I Have Become

**A/N:** Been a long time, huh? Almost three weeks. I'm sorry. There have been a lot of things getting in my way, literally and figuratively. So I apologies to all my caring readers, who have told me how sad they were about my disappearance. Here's chap 8. Its named after the song, "Animal I Have Become," by Three Days Grace, which was suggested by Blackrose5130. Fabulous choice. I don't have much else to say, except the fact that I'm not proof reading! Haha, I don't care at the moment so please don't hate me for it. So, enjoy.

Disclaimer: Never… rhymes with clever… which is what I am! Hah. I amuse myself.

* * *

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_Chapter 8: Animal I Have Become_

Orihime stood in the back of the café as she saw Rukia carrying a tray over to a table. Orihime held the phone closer to her face, "She's not doing so well. Ever since this morning when she told me what happened, she's been so distant to everyone. I just don't get it! Why would he deny it? We know he loves her!"

The female voice on the other line began, "That's just it, Orihime. He wasn't denying it. He was pushing her away."

"But why?!" Orihime asked hurriedly.

"Because he thinks it's not allowed. He thinks Rukia is a human."

Orihime frowned and clenched a fist on the counter. "I don't know how long I can take this. I want to tell her so badly. I want to tell her everything. Not just her, him too."

"Just hold on a little longer, Orihime. We're all coming. The information Renji told us about Ichigo the other night needs to be investigated. We'll be there by tonight."

Orihime sighed and then a small smile formed on her face. "It's been so long Rangiku."

"I know. I can't wait to see you, but I have to get going now. Captain Hitsugaya is planning on proposing to Momo and Shuuhei and I were planning on eavesdropping!"

Orihime giggled, "They haven't gotten married yet?"

Rangiku laughed, "The Captain was never one to express his feelings so quickly." Another voice was heard in the background. "Rangiku, let's go!"

"All right Orihime. I'll see you later!"

"Bye," Orihime said with a genuine smile until she looked up and saw Rukia. She spoke softly out loud. "I hope you'll understand why I can't say anything."

* * *

Rukia was carrying an empty tray back to the kitchen. She was so tired. She had cried her eyes out last night. Her mind kept repeating the same thoughts over and over again. 'I don't need him. This all happened for me to finally realize that Ren is the one I'm meant to be with…. So if I've finally realized this, why am I not happy?'

Rukia's thoughts were interrupted as she almost ran into someone she didn't expect to see. Her eyes went wide. "Ren," she said softly. She placed the tray down on a table next to them without taking her eyes off of him.

His blue eyes looked back at her with pain. "I'm sorry."

She was still shocked that he was actually standing in front of her. She then sighed as the statement he had just said sunk in. She bowed her head, "Me too," she said softly before raising her head again to look at him.

He squinted slightly as if trying to see something hidden. "What happened?"

Her eyes went wide again. "What?"

"Something happened to you. I can see it in your eyes. You look distant, like your not here even though I see you standing right in front of me," he said with concern.

She opened her mouth to speak, but found no words. She turned her head away to the side instead. What could she really say? That she was heartbroken from another man?

"Why don't you ever open up to me? I've known you for six years now and I've never heard one thing about your past. You're so closed off! Why won't you let me in?" he pleaded.

She felt her chest get heavy and she looked towards the floor. Ren reached up and grabbed her chin, lifting her head up to look at him. "Rukia," he said, pushing for her to answer him.

She sighed, but began. "I came here six years ago to get away from this past you want to know so much about. For the past week I've realized that my past is a mystery to even _me_. I've been in a bad place for the last few days. It brought me back to the days before I came here. I just-" her voice was beginning to break. She swallowed, "I just don't know what I want anymore; about anything. Part of me wants to forget everything in my past so it can just leave me the hell alone! But another part of me wants to understand everything about it. I feel like my judgment about everything in the last few days has been off."

Ren looked at her with pitied eyes. He was about to move in and hold her. He wanted to let her know that she could lean on him when she needed to; that she could trust him.

"Hey Rukia! Where's Ichigo?" Kin said coming into the café.

Ren saw her flinch at the words. He then understood. He wished he hadn't though. It only made his heart sink. She bowed her head down, "I don't know," she said so softly.

Orihime ran up to Kin, grabbed him by the arm and put on the biggest fake smile you could imagine. "Kin! I need you to help me unpack a shipment of flowers that just came in!"

He was stumbling as she pulled him, "Um, yeah. Sure Orihime."

Ren looked back at Rukia. "I'm here for you Rukia. Just know that," he said kissing her forehead and then walking out of the café. He had more drinking to do.

* * *

Ishida looked at Orihime as he sat down and began to drink the cup of coffee she handed him. "So who exactly is coming?"

"Seems like everyone is," she said pouring herself a cup.

He sighed. "It's been awhile, huh?"

She smiled at him, "Yeah," she said before taking a sip. A few seconds went by of silence. "A lot has happened in the past few days, Uryuu."

He smiled back at her as he placed his cup back on the counter. He reached over and placed a hand on his wife's. "I know. We'll get through this," he said staring deep into her eyes.

She sighed, "I just hope they can have a happy ending this time. They deserve it after all they've been through."

He smiled at her, "If Ichigo hasn't changed one bit, I'm pretty sure he won't let anything slip away this time. He'll keep holding on."

Orihime smiled back sadly, "They just have to remember first."

Ishida squeezed her hand, "They did it once. They can do it again."

* * *

Ichigo felt like he was just waking up and opening his eyes, only to receive a blurry vision. As his vision began to get clearer he found something strange. He was walking; not in the sleepwalking way, but the completely awake way. Ichigo then could make out through his complicated vision that it wasn't night time anymore.

He tried to stop walking when he noticed that he in fact couldn't. He had no control over his body it seemed, which would explain why he couldn't see straight. He felt his breathing hitch as he tried to understand what was going on.

"It's been awhile, King," Ichigo heard a cocky and hysterical voice say.

"King? What the fuck is going on?!" Ichigo yelled back.

"Hmm, I thought for sure you'd remember once I showed myself. I guess you're still as weak as ever."

Ichigo continued to look through the blurry vision as to where his body was being taken. "Shut the hell up and tell me what the fuck is happening!"

There was a chuckle. "I'm taking over, Ichigo. You are in no way as strong as you were before. You can't hold me back anymore. Although I have to admit, I am surprised that you're conscious while I'm in control. And since you are, I think I'll make a little visit to a certain café before I push you back down to where you belong…"

"You sick bastard! You better not go near Rukia! I swear to god I'll-"

"You'll what? You're not strong enough, Kurosaki. Not anymore. You can't protect her like you used to."

"Like I used to? Who the hell are you?!" Ichigo yelled.

"Maybe you should be asking yourself that first," the voice said before opening familiar double doors.

* * *

She was wiping down a table that had just left. 'This day seriously sucks. I can't stop working though because once I do, I'll just lose it,' Rukia thought furrowing her eyebrows.

She turned as she heard the doors ring open and in walked something she wished she hadn't seen. He came strutting in wearing a pair of low waist jeans and an unbuttoned long sleeve shirt, which showed off his bare chest and abdomen. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbow and he wore black shades to mask his _supposedly_ amber eyes.

He was walking straight towards her and she found it hard to move. Everything inside her was screaming to run; to get out of there before she ended up getting crushed again. But she couldn't. Everything about his walk was entrancing. She couldn't help but feel weak at the knees as he continued to walk towards her and only her in what seemed like slow motion.

"If you go near her, I'll fucking kill you! Do you hear me, you bastard?!" Ichigo yelled seeing as how his body was giving no sign of stopping before reaching Rukia.

'_Ichigo' _just smirked at the threat as he was now going to make his move.

"Ich-igo," Rukia said hesitantly as he continued to move in closer to her without any intention of stopping. He continued to smile, although she couldn't help but notice that it was a smile she had never seen him portray before. Something about it gave her shivers down her spine.

He smoothly wrapped his arms around her waist quickly, without giving her a chance to pull away and pulled her in for a forceful kiss.

Her hands were against his bare chest as her mind tried to process what was happening. 'Why is he kissing me? He told me last night that he didn't… But why does this feel so wrong? This doesn't feel like Ichigo…' she suddenly pushed away with great strength.

Ichigo was still smiling in that maniacal way. He licked his lips before speaking, "What's wrong? I know this is what you want." He leaned in again and slammed his lips against hers, only causing her to push him away with even more force. And once he was arm length away, she slapped him. Rukia was furious. This situation seemed all too familiar.

His sunglasses went flying off as his face remained facing sideways from her powerful slap. She continued to fume as she frowned at his form. His head slowly began to turn back to face her.

She gasped as she saw his eyes black with yellow irises. She saw anger, self-servitude, resentment, and lust in those egotistical eyes. She was concerned, but mostly afraid. But surprisingly, she wasn't afraid for herself; she was afraid for Ichigo. Something was going on and even after what he had done to her, she felt like she needed to help him.

She began to take a step closer to him when she saw his eyes flicker. All the sickening emotions she had seen beforehand were now gone. All that was left was regret, sorrow and pain.

Their eyes were locked and so much was said without actually being spoken. They wanted each other; needed each other, but they couldn't. What he did to her last night made her realize that she needed her life to go down a different path; a path that she was supposed to have gone down many years ago. He couldn't put her through all the conflict of him being a shinigami. It just… wasn't fair.

Finally, Ichigo broke the unbearable silence as he tried to take in her beautiful features one final time. "I'm sorry," he said softly before spinning around and taking off through the doors.

* * *

He turned the corner and felt his body being taken under control again. He thrashed around as he tried to remain strong, but all he could hear was the laughter of his other self as he fell to the road and saw darkness again.

* * *

As she watched his figure disappear through the window of the café, she let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding in, in the first place. But instead of just one breath being let out, her breathing got heavy and she bent her head down as she tried to grasp her even breathing. Her hand slowly moved to her chest as Orihime finally made it over to Rukia.

She was told by Kin that Ichigo was here, and since Kin did not know of the events that took place last night, he wouldn't know how suspicious that truly was. She ran out of the back and saw them standing in front of each other, and then Ichigo ran out.

"Rukia, breathe. Focus on your breathing and nothing else," Orihime said with pure seriousness. She placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder and within half a second, Rukia threw her arms around Orihime's neck and cried into her friend's shoulder.

Orihime's eyes went wide. Rukia was seriously falling apart. She hadn't seen her like this since the night Rukia had asked her to let her be happy again. This needed to be corrected soon. It _was_ going to be corrected soon. If they weren't going to fix it by tonight when they arrive, Orihime was going to take matters into her own hands.

'They need to know. And this time, we're going to tell them,' she thought stroking the back of her friends head.

* * *

It was night now. It was so quiet out, but if you strained your ears to listen, you could hear the drunken cries of people in the bar down the street. The roads were empty; the town looked desolate.

One car was making its way along the empty streets; a green mini van. The driver turned the corner and honked as he saw a figure in the middle of the street. He didn't slow down, but as he got closer the figure began to stand with his back to the van. The driver began to honk the horn more as he speedily approached.

Finally, he was within fifteen feet when the figure turned around and the headlights shined on it. The driver's heart skipped a beat and once his mind registered his sight, he slammed his feet on the breaks.

There, now standing five feet away from the vehicle was what the driver assumed to be a man; although it looked anything but human. The feeling in his gut was telling him this wasn't something he wanted to come in contact with.

The 'man' stood before the van with orange hair, but the most startling thing the driver saw was his eyes; black with yellow irises. He hadn't even realized how long he had been staring until the 'man' let one of the most malevolent grins slip across his lips. The driver slammed the car in reverse and got the hell out of there before he could find out why he was grinning.

The orange haired 'man' turned as he heard a loud roar down the street. He grinned again as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses that he smoothly put on his face. He put his hands in his pocket as he began to stroll towards the bar, walking in the middle of the street.

* * *

"Where are they? They should be here by now!" Ishida said in frustration.

"They're only a little late, Uryuu. Come here, have some coffee," Orihime said as they stood in the empty café. They had closed early and told Kin and Shina they could take off early. Rukia had been upstairs since earlier, and Nozomi and Ryo were taking a nap.

"No, I'm fine. Damn those shinigami and never doing anything right," he said placing his hands in his pockets.

"We're here for barely thirty seconds and we are already hearing damnations from the Quincy," Renji said with a cocky grin at the front doors.

In came walking a group of friends that hadn't seen for almost six years. Renji came walking in with his arm draped over Tatsuki's shoulders. Chad was easily seen in the back due to him being as large as ever, with Shuuhei standing next to him. Toushirou was holding Momo's hand with their fingers intertwined. Byakuya had his arm bent for Unohana to take his arm with her's. Rangiku pushed everyone aside and ran up to Orihime giving her a big hug.

"Where is he? I want to see him!" she yelled squeezing the life out of Orihime.

"Umm, who?" she sheepishly replied.

"I want to see the baby!" she exclaimed.

"Well Ryo's not a baby anymore. He's five years old now," she said.

"It's been that long?!" Rangiku yelled.

"Yes, and Nozomi is five too," Orihime added.

"Nozomi?" Rangiku questioned in confusion. Everyone had finally grouped around, not seeing the rush as Rangiku did.

"Rukia's daughter," Orihime said simply.

Everyone's face was filled with shock. Mouths dropped and eyes went wide. Byakuya's face was priceless. He took a step forward.

"She- She had- She's a-?" Byakuya tried to speak. It was the first time anyone had ever seen the almighty Byakuya Kuchiki stutter.

Renji slapped his captain's back, "Spit it out damn it!" He was eager to know the answer himself, but once he saw his captain's head turn with a cold glare, he swallowed hard. "Sorry, sir."

Ishida spoke up, "Yes, Rukia is a mother. I thought you knew," he said suspiciously.

"Why would we know?" Toushirou asked in a sarcastic tone.

Ishida shrugged, leaving the group with silence to soak in the new bit of information. "Where is she?" Momo asked sadly.

"She's upstairs in her room. She hasn't left in some time," Orihime answered.

"We have to find Ichigo first. If what Soul Society said was true, we have to deal with him first otherwise some major shit will be going down," Tatsuki said confidently.

"What did Soul Society say exactly?" Ishida asked with great interest.

* * *

The bar was loud, but what bar isn't late on a Saturday night? He came walking in with an emotionless face. His eyes were hidden with his shades as he made his way casually through the bar.

_I can't escape this hell  
So many times I've tried  
But I'm still caged inside_

Ren took another swig of his mug and rubbed his forehead his palm. He heard a woman giggling and turned out of curiosity.

The woman was sitting on the edge of a pool table with her legs dangling down. A man was standing in between her legs, while whispering in her ear. His hand slowly slid up her thigh. Ren squinted to get a better look at the guy. The bar was dark, and his vision wasn't exactly one hundred percent after a few beers.

_Somebody get me through this nightmare  
I can't control myself_

Then, his eyes caught something he couldn't believe he didn't see before; orange hair.

Ren stumbled out of his bar stool without a second thought and made his way over to him. He reached his hand out and pulled back on _'Ichigo's_' shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ren asked in disbelief.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" _'Ichigo'_ said with a grin and then turned back to the woman.

_So what if you can see the darkest side of me?  
No one will ever change this animal I have become_

Ren pulled on his shoulder again. "How can you be such an ass and have Rukia fall in love with you? How can you treat her like shit?!"

'_Ichigo'_ slowly moved away from the woman to get a better look at the man. "Ah, I remember you now. What's the matter? Did she yell out my name last night, instead of yours?"

_Help me believe it's not the real me  
Somebody help me tame this animal  
(This animal, this animal)_

Ren fumed, "You son of a bitch!" He launched forward and was about to punch in him the face before the bouncer stepped closer, causing him to stop. "Outside. You and me. Now," Ren said through gritted teeth.

'_Ichigo'_ just kept grinning, "Sure. No problem."

They made their way out of the bar as Ren stomped out first with _'Ichigo'_ walking casually with his hands in his pockets, behind him.

Ren rolled up his sleeves and raised his fists in the fighting position. "Come on, you bastard. It's time we settle this."

_I can't escape myself  
(I can't escape myself)  
So many times I've lied  
(So many times I've lied)  
But there's still rage inside_

He looked back with his hands still in his pockets and his grin growing by every second. "What the fuck are you smiling about?!" Ren yelled with fury.

'_Ichigo'_ let out a chuckle. "You're fighting for a woman that doesn't want you. I've got her completely wrapped around my finger. If I say three simple words to her she'd worship the ground I'd walk on. She wants nothing to do with you."

_Somebody get me through this nightmare  
I can't control myself_

"You son of a bitch! How could you do that to her?! I'm going to fucking kill you!" Ren yelled as he launched toward him.

His fist was aimed directly at _'Ichigo's'_ face, but he didn't move. Instead, he continued to stand there with his hands in his pockets as Ren's fist came in contact with his face.

Ren stood there slightly puzzled why he didn't even try to dodge, but also felt successful. He went to wind up for another punch, but paused.

When he had hit his face, it caused one side of his glasses to shatter and then fly off his face. Now, '_Ichigo's'_ face was turning back to Ren with a maniacal grin and eyes that no man had ever seen.

_So what if you can see the darkest side of me?  
No one will ever change this animal I have become_

"What the hell-" Ren said softly before throwing his fist at his face again. This time, _'Ichigo'_ dodged it with ease without even moving his feet. Ren was startled by his fast reflexes and threw another punch. Soon he was throwing punch after punch at him, but was missing greatly.

_Help me believe it's not the real me  
Somebody help me tame this animal I have become_

_Help me believe it's not the real me  
Somebody help me tame this animal_

Finally, Ren threw another punch, but this time, '_Ichigo'_ caught it with his own hand and looked into Ren's eyes with the grin still visible on his face. Ren's eyes showed fear now. There was still anger, but it was taken over by this new emotion.

_Somebody help me through this nightmare  
I can't control myself_

'_Ichigo'_ twisted his arm quickly, causing him to shriek in pain. Without giving him a moment to breathe, he delivered Ren an uppercut, which landed on Ren's chin. He then gave a right hook into his eye, but grabbed him before Ren went flying to the ground.

_Somebody wake me from this nightmare  
I can't escape this hell_

'_Ichigo'_ now held both of his hands around Ren's neck as he began to see the life in this man's eyes flicker before. Nothing was giving him more pleasure than seeing him this helpless.

"This world has no use for you," he said bitterly as he tightened his grip, about to give his neck a tug. Suddenly, he found two zanpaktou pointed at him. One was under his chin while the other was against his left ribs.

Believe it or not, his grin grew even bigger. "You took an awfully long time to get here, shinigami. I've felt you near for quite some time, yet you almost didn't get here in time."

"Put him down now or we'll be forced to take you out," Renji yelled with his blade under '_Ichigo's'_ chin. Shuuhei remained completely still, ready for any action he might try to pull.

_(This animal, this animal, this animal, this animal, this animal, this animal, this animal)_

'_Ichigo'_ lowered his grin to a smirk as he let go of Ren's neck and let the man fall to the floor. "If you think that these blades can cut me, than you're more foolish than I thought," he said before pulling one hand up to push away Renji's zanpaktou, and raising the other hand to push away Shuuhei's. He pushed the sharp edge away with his very fingertips.

As fast as he pushed their zanpaktou away, he grabbed Renji's with his entire hand wrapped around the blade, yanked it away and hit Shuuhei in the head with the hilt. With the chance then given, he took off running.

_So what if you can see the darkest side of me?  
No one will ever change this animal I have become_

Renji and Shuuhei were startled, but began chasing after him, even though he was much faster.

'_Ichigo'_ made it around a corner and then into an alleyway before he bent over and began grabbing his face and then hair.

_Help me believe it's not the real me  
Somebody help me tame this animal I have become_

He began yelling and the voice started to sound different. "You bastard! I'm stronger than you! I can take control of you now!" he yelled after slamming up against the alley wall. He slowly slid down the wall as the thrashing began to stop. And for the first time in a long time, Ichigo sat there and cried.

_Help me believe it's not the real me  
Somebody help me tame this animal  
(This animal I have become)_

* * *

Rukia wiped her eyes for the millionth time that night and walked out of her room to the kitchen in search of something to nibble on, no matter how sick she felt. She opened a cabinet and saw the box of Chappy Flakes open. Nozomi apparently didn't close it up right after her bowl of cereal that morning.

Rukia sighed and figured it was good enough to snack on. She'll just eat out of the box. She grabbed it and sat down at the table. She dug her hand into the box and felt something strange. She pulled her hand out and peered into the box before reaching in again and pulling the object out.

It was a piece of paper that had a bunch of pictures of bunnies playing in a grassy field. Rukia smiled at her daughter's drawing. She had always been better at it then herself, even at the age of two.

'She must have been holding this in her hand when she was reaching for the prize this morning,' she thought shaking her head with a smile. It wasn't the first time she did it.

Rukia then noticed something through the white paper and quickly turned it around. On this side of the paper was a picture of Nozomi and a man walking with their backs to the viewer of the drawing. They were holding each other's hand. He wore a black robe and had what looked like a sword on his back. But the most intriguing part wasn't the fact that this man looked like a shinigami, but the fact that this man who looked like a shinigami had orange hair…

* * *

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Cliff! Next chap is going to be awesome. I'm going to have fun writing it. Wait, back up. Tell me what you thought about this chap first! It was, well, I don't even know how to describe it. Hah. Maybe you have more of an idea. Tell me your thoughts. Give the feedback, which I know most of you never let me down about doing. So, basically hollow Ichigo is insane. Nothing else to say, but he's just not nice. Hah. Who's pissed about the manga right now? About it having like no Rukia for at least 20 chaps so far. Bunch of crap. Plus Ichigo isn't even going after her. So lame. Also, the episodes are going by really slow so that's not very interesting either. I do just want to say that in my long absence, I watched the whole series of Blood + (amazing, just omg incredible lol) and Fruits Basket (adorable) and read the whole Fruits Basket manga (adorable and amazing).

So again, I'm sorry about the major delay in the update and I hope you can forgive me. Until next time, Later


	9. Storm

**A/N:** Faster than expected, huh? Well I'm happy about it, I hope you are too. This is named after the song, "Storm," by Lifehouse, which was brought up by Zerachinhime. I agree. Love this song to pieces. This will be a sick chap. Well at least I think so, haha. Again, didn't proof read it, so don't attack me! Enjoy.

Disclaimer- I was recently called God by one of my friends, so I think that should give me reason to say I DO own Bleach….. What? You don't think so? Pshh lame.

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* * *

_Chapter 9: Storm _

"Why?" he whispered as he remained trembling on the floor. "Why is all of this happening? How do I stop it?!" he grabbed his hair in frustration. "I just- I just want to understand," he said softly as the morning light began to creep above the horizon.

"What is it you want to know?" a voice said only a few feet away.

Ichigo's head shot up and was met with two emerald eyes. His surprised expression faded quickly and was replaced with a firm expression as he steadily stood up. He eyed him suspiciously. "What can you tell me?"

The pale faced man stood there, expressionless as ever. "Anything you want."

* * *

Rukia had not moved from her seat at the table. The picture was still firmly gripped in her hands as her eyes bore through the image of the man she could only presume was Ichigo. Who else had that vibrant colored orange hair? But it wasn't just the fact that he was in the picture that was luring her to her daughter's drawing. It was the fact that he was indeed dressed like a shinigami. 

Rukia knew that Nozomi had seen them before. It was rare and only happened about three times that she knew about, but Nozomi could see them, and not to mention spirits and hollows. Hollows didn't appear, and if they did, it was as many times as the shinigami were seen. Rukia realized her daughter's ability when they were walking on the sidewalk one afternoon and Nozomi pointed out a shinigami running and said, "Look mommy! He's still wearing his pajamas!"

Ever since then, she knew. It wasn't that much of a surprise to her; she was a shinigami herself at one point after all, even if it seemed like a lifetime ago. She did think about it often though. She left many friends behind along with her brother, which was the only thing she regretted. She was content with living a normal life in a gigai. As long as she stays in this artificial body, her spiritual pressure would be hidden. So know matter what happens, if she doesn't want to risk getting caught, she won't leave it.

The only shinigami she ever told about leaving and not going back was the one who made the gigai for her; Urahara. He himself left Soul Society once. He understood, and she knew he did, otherwise she wouldn't be sitting at that table right then and there.

It could definitely be possible he was a shinigami because she can't feel spiritual pressure or use any of her powers as long as she stays in that gigai. So she wouldn't know. 'It would explain how he found Nozomi the other night,' she thought staring intently at the picture still.

'I just- I never expected it. I want to say something to him, but what if I'm wrong. What if I blow my cover and Soul Society finds me?' she closed her eyes to stop her mind from moving at incredible speeds. Her eyes shot open after a few seconds. 'What if that's why he's been acting so strange? What if that's why he pushed me away?'

She placed her chin down on the table as she still kept her eyes on the picture. Her eyes began to flutter shut. She hadn't slept at all and started to feel sleep approach her, but she reluctantly complied.

* * *

"I hope you'll take everything I said into consideration. We're the only ones who can possibly help you. The Vizard are long gone. The shinigami would only cast you out, or most likely kill you to hinder a potential threat. And the humans, well, they're nothing but prey for someone like you." He paused as he received the same expression from the orange headed man; a firm stare with his hand hovering over the hilt of his blade. 

"I'll be seeing you soon, Kurosaki. You should have your mind made up within the next few hours," and with that said, Ulquiorra entered his portal and left.

Ichigo's shoulders relaxed as his hand fell to his side. He let out a large breath and then began to rub his temples with one hand. "I don't know what to do," he said softly with dismay.

* * *

There was a group of people standing around near a tree in a park, but the races were too hard to make out. A female spoke_ "So you're leaving? We won't see you ever again?"_

Rukia then heard the voice of what she believed to be her old friend, Renji_. "No, you'll see us again. When you leave this world permanently and stay in Soul Society."_

"_In other words, when we die," _a deeper voiced man said

Then, Rukia heard that voice; that voice that she had been hearing for the past few days. It was haunting her everywhere, yet instead of trying to run away from it, she wanted to know more. _"So you just expect us to sit here and watch you guys go out of our lives, like nothing happened? I don't know about you guys, but I can't do that," he said._

"_You have to. You don't have a choice. We don't have a choice. You'll have a normal life again. Something you were always meant to have," _Rukia heard herself say in response.

"_A normal life, Rukia?" _he said with his voice growing stronger_. "My life has never been normal. I've always seen souls of the dead. When you came, it gave me a purpose. So don't make it sound like these past few years weren't destined to happen! Don't you dare push this aside like you do with all those other emotions you have bottled up inside!"_

Rukia was surprised to hear her voice sound shaky now. She figured she would yell back, knowing she usually wouldn't let someone yell at her like that._ "Please! Don't do this. We can't do this now. We can't change anything. Don't start something we won't finish. We don't have enough time if we even dare to step into this!" _She was yelling and Rukia could tell that she was holding back any tears that threatened to fall.

"_Why not?! Tell me why you're pushing this aside?!"_

"_Because we'll be leaving tomorrow! We won't be able to deal with this argument in less than a day! I rather spend these last hours with you, not doing this!"_

Rukia's eyes opened suddenly and she found she had fallen asleep at the table. She had yet another vision and as she saw the picture lying on the table in front of her, she couldn't help but find it strange that her little dreams only began to happen around the same time Ichigo came.

'If these visions are really memories, then something had to have triggered them. And the only thing that seems logical enough is to assume Ichigo is the reason. But why?' she thought as she began to brainstorm. 'Is it because he really is a shinigami?' she thought as her eyes caught a glimpse of the clock. She was surprised how late it was already and needed to get down to the café.

She stood up with the drawing in her hands and looked at the clock on her wall again. "I have to tell Orihime about this," she said, but planned on checking in on her daughter first.

She made her way to Nozomi's room, but once she stood at the doorway, she noticed the bed was undone and she wasn't in it. Rukia frowned. "I don't know why I thought she would still be here. It's late. She must have gone downstairs while I was asleep," she said out loud as she made her way out of her apartment.

* * *

Ichigo had been walking around ever since his little meeting with Ulquiorra and it was now almost dinner time. His hands were in his pockets and his head was bent down, looking at his feet as he walked. 

'How am I supposed to control this _thing_ if I don't know anything about it? The shinigami would see me as a threat. They almost killed me back there! Maybe they are the only ones I can go to…' he thought as the traffic was steady on the road beside him and people casually walked by him on the sidewalk.

"_Tell me what the hell is happening to me! Why don't I have control over my body?! What is it that's doing this?!" Ichigo demanded answers, seeing that it didn't matter who it was coming from, just that it was coming._

_Ulquiorra stared plainly at him and answered in a straight forward manner. "A hollow."_

_Ichigo stared at him questionably. He didn't understand, "What do you mean?"_

"_You are a shinigami, but now, half of you is a hollow now."_

"_How the hell did that happen?!" Ichigo yelled in both frustration and fear._

"_From this," Ulquiorra said simply as he pulled out a zanpaktou._

"_A zanpaktou?" Ichigo continued to stare at the blade in confusion._

"_This is the very same one I used in our confrontation at the park. Notice anything peculiar?" Ulquiorra said, almost seeming bored by the conversation._

"_It was glowing black and red before. Now it's not."_

"_Correct. This blade has the ability to absorb the spiritual pressure of any of its prey. Once it is absorbed, the power becomes apart of it. It also has the ability to release all of the power it has gained."_

_Ichigo cut in, already understanding where this was going. "And you stabbed me the other night…" He paused as he thought. He then looked Ulquiorra in the eyes. "You gave me its power?" he asked, not understanding 'why.'_

"_You have the capability to do amazing things. Your power, which you have yet to fully unlock, can be the universe's greatest asset or its greatest downfall."_

"_So if you knew this and you're my enemy, why would you do it?" Ichigo questioned._

"_With the hope and confidence that you will start to see things our way," Ulquiorra said nonchalantly._

_Ichigo was blown away by his forwardness. "What would give you the idea that I would even consider that?!"_

"_We're the only ones that can help you harness this power."_

_Ichigo chuckled in disgust, "What makes you think the shinigami can't do it?"_

"_It's not a matter of them being able to; it's if they want to. You're a hollow. A shinigami's duty is to fight them. So naturally you are fighting with yourself. If you can't control it, what makes you think they want to risk trying? Plus, to go to them after all they've done to you…"_

_Ichigo eyed him suspiciously from his last unfinished statement. "What have they done to me? What are you hiding?"_

"_That, you will only find out if we've come to an understanding," he replied smoothly._

"_But this is your fault I'm like this! If I wasn't stabbed by you, I wouldn't be in this situation!" Ichigo was getting impatient._

"_I was only giving back what was yours to begin with," he said simply._

"_Mine to begin with?" Ichigo asked with shock._

"_More will be answered later."_

He replayed their discussion over and over in his head and he only found it more and more frustrating.

Suddenly, a sharp raise in spiritual pressure was felt in the distance. He knew it was Ulquiorra. His reiatsu was familiar. But there was something else… something else that he felt familiar. Who was with him? His eyes went wide in recognition. He turned down an alleyway, got out of his gigai and started back down the main street running.

* * *

Rangiku, Momo and Orihime were catching up at the back counter. Momo was showing off her engagement ring that she had gotten the day before and Orihime was showing baby pictures of Ryo and explaining how she had another one on the way. 

Byakuya and Unohana were seen behind the counter looking at pictures of Rukia and Nozomi to fill their curiosity.

Toushirou, Chad and Tatsuki were seen playing "Go Fish" with Ryo at a side table. This definition of playing was Ryo winning, Chad being as silent as ever, Tatsuki smiling at one of her best friend's child, and Toushirou looking bored and annoyed; which Ryo was oblivious to.

Meanwhile, Renji, Shuuhei, and Ishida were sitting at a table drinking coffee.

"How's you head?" Renji asked Shuuhei while fiddling with his cup on the table. '_Ichigo'_ had it him in the head with the hilt of Zabimaru. That definitely should have left a mark.

"How's you pride?" Shuuhei said before taking a sip of coffee. He had been harassing Renji on how clumsy it was of him to actually lose his grip on his zanpaktou like that.

Renji began to fume, but before he could reply with anything, Ishida cut in. "I hope Kurosaki's fine out there right now. I know you said that you felt his spiritual pressure alter shortly after he ran off, but still." There was silence as the men thought to themselves.

Ishida spoke again, "I just don't understand how the hell he has his hollow again. You said that as soon as you found him in Soul Society, you couldn't trace any sort of its existence in him."

"Something must have happened within the past few days," Shuuhei concluded.

"Could Rukia be the reason?" Ishida questioned.

Renji shook his head, "It's got nothing to do with his psychological well being. This is separate."

Silence came again as they sat and pondered. "By the way," Ishida began, "What does Soul Society know of everything going on down here?"

"Don't worry. You, Orihime, Rukia, and the kids are safe," Renji reassured.

"All they know is that we came down here to investigate the disturbance in this town, which was originally ordered to Kurosaki, but also they felt a change in the spiritual pressure lately, so we needed to check that out. But we now know that the change was caused by Ichigo," Shuuhei explained.

Ishida nodded in understanding. "So Yamamoto still has no idea where we are or what happened to us?"

"No idea. We've kept our mouths shut. Don't worry, we wouldn't rat you guys out. Plus, Rukia deserves our help in this," Renji said, saying the last statement in a tender tone.

"Too bad she's going to go crazy when she finds out that you've known all this time," Ishida said regretfully.

"It has to be done if we plan on making her remember now that that guy you've told us about is out of the picture," Shuuhei responded.

"What was his name? Sven?" Renji questioned.

"I doubt he was German, you moron," Shuuhei replied sarcastically.

"Everyone! Get in the kitchen!" Orihime yelled urgently.

They looked at her in confusion, causing her to explain. "I can hear rustling upstairs and I don't want Rukia to just be welcomed by all of you. We need to open her up to you guys without giving her a heart attack thinking she's been found out."

There was a collection of "oh's" heard and they all hurried to the back door and went into the kitchen.

Rukia came running down the stairs with determination and the picture rolled up in her hand. "Orihime," she said walking straight towards her.

"Yes?" she replied, trying to remain natural.

"There's something I want to show you, but first has Nozomi eaten?" Rukia asked, needing to put her motherly responsibilities first.

Orihime furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean? She hasn't come downstairs yet today."

Rukia's eyes widened. "But she's nowhere upstairs. Her bed is undone."

"She hasn't come down here, Rukia. No one would be able to miss her, you know that," Orihime said.

Rukia turned to the front doors and ran. She went through and looked around in both directions, seeing if she could spot her daughter nearby. She ran a little down the sidewalk and turned the corner.

Then, suddenly, she saw him running from the side on the opposite side of the street's sidewalk. She had gotten her answer because there he was in his shinigami form running with all his might.

She needed to talk to him. So she began to run across the street, which would then have her end up in front of him. She didn't even think about looking for traffic and because of that she heard a horn beep several times from the side of her. As she turned she was able to see it was a green mini van before the impact came and then all she saw was darkness.

* * *

Rukia's eyes fluttered open and she saw that she was not where she thought she was. She was sitting on the gravel with her back up against a light pole. The night was clear and as she looked around she saw the wind blowing around the curtain of an open window above a clinic. 

_How long have I been in this storm?  
So overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form_

"Rukia… Do you know where you are?" the same voice in every one of her dreams asked.

She slowly looked around again and replied innocently, "No… I don't." She began to get up and walk away down the street.

"Where are you going?" the voice asked again.

"I don't know," she answered unknowingly. She then began feeling pain in her head, causing her to get dizzy and close her eyes tightly.

_Water's getting harder to tread  
With these waves crashing over my head_

"Rukia… Open your eyes."

She obeyed and found she was standing in front of a headstone. It was blank and only had a vase of purple tulips next to it.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

_If I could just see you  
Everything would be all right  
If I could see you  
This darkness would turn to light_

"I'm looking at a headstone," she said plainly.

"Whose?"

"I don't know."

"Read it," he ordered.

"I can't," she said softly.

"Read the headstone, Rukia," he ordered again.

"I can't! It's blank!" Rukia said irritated. She felt the same pain in her head, along with the dizziness and closed her eyes again.

"Do you know where you are now?"

_And I will walk on water  
And you will catch me if I fall  
And I will get lost into your eyes  
And everything will be all right  
And everything will be all right_

She opened her eyes and saw she was standing in an open field next to a river. "No," she said as she began to walk forward. She suddenly saw a huge black and red explosion come and go. She ran towards it, but when she got there, only a purple tulip lied on the grass where it had occurred. She bent down to pick it up when another fit of dizziness and pain came over her.

"Look around," he said, which signaled her to open her eyes.

_I know you didn't bring me out here to drown  
So why am I ten feet under and upside down_

She was standing in a room. Her immediate attention was caught by the open window where the curtain was being blown by the wind. "I must be in that building from earlier," she concluded.

She saw the desk, the bed and the closet. "There is nothing special about this place," she reasoned as she turned and reached out for the handle of the door.

_Barely surviving has become my purpose  
Because I'm so used to living underneath the surface_

She felt a slight pressure on her wrist as if someone had grabbed it. "_Stay with me tonight,_" she heard softly said. She turned and looked around the room, but saw nothing. She furrowed her eyebrows and then turned back around and opened the door, which enveloped her in a light too bright to see anything in.

_If I could just see you  
Everything would be all right_

She closed her eyes tightly from the brightness and then opened them again. She was standing outside now about five feet away from a gate that would lead her to Soul Society. She slowly began to walk towards it when she felt her wrist being grabbed for real this time.

Rukia turned around slowly, but before she could see who it was, she closed her eyes.

_If I could see you  
This darkness would turn to light_

"Rukia… Why are you closing your eyes?" the voice asked, who was now supposedly standing in front of her.

"I- I don't know," she said stuttering as she felt a few tears fall down her cheeks. "I don't even know why I'm crying."

_And I will walk on water  
And you will catch me if I fall_

She felt him wipe away her tears and then place his hands on her waist. "You once told me, 'Even when your mind forgets, your heart will remember. So, open your eyes now, Rukia. Remember me. Open your eyes," he said softly and pleadingly.

_And I will get lost into your eyes  
And everything will be all right  
And everything will be all right_

She began to open her eyes, but when she did, she was lying on her bed in her apartment. She was breathing heavily and she sat up quickly. Orihime was beside her and tried to push her back down gently, but was to no success.

"I just healed you, but you shouldn't be moving around like that yet," the concerned woman said in response.

Rukia's eyes locked with Orihime's. She could see something in her eyes that she hadn't seen in Rukia for six years.

"Orihime… he's still alive," Rukia said softly with a small, genuine smile on her face, followed by a small chuckle and tears of joy.

_And everything will be all right_

* * *

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So sick! Haha! I hope you guys could pick out all the places she visited on her journey through memory lane. If you couldn't, just ask and I'll tell you. I need major feedback on this chap because this is one of the biggest chapters. I mean she remembers! Finally someone does, right? So, I'm happy I got this out fast. I really wanted to write this one so that's why. Okay, talk to me! Later


	10. There For You

**A/N:** Time doesn't stop, sadly. I'm incredibly sorry for the month and one day wait. I feel like such an ass. I promised I wouldn't take that long ever again and I actually went longer than the last time. I haven't been in the best psychological health lately. Big issue with things and friends, romance. Blah. Just messed with me and gave me no push. I actually refused to open any of my fanfiction mail at one point. But today I did and I want to thank all of you who have been basically saying, "Where the hell are you?" Even if you didn't actually tell me, but thought it – thanks. All the reviews and PM's I got from like 2 weeks ago to now made me write this all today, which means I started about 4:00 and stopped now. It's short, but it's something. And I know I cannot leave you guys hanging with this cliff because that would be messed up. (you'll see). This chap was named after, "There For You," by the Undeserving. So enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own my readers… haha kidding. Idk what I'm talking about…

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* * *

_Chapter 10: There For You_

He was running with all of his might and he had a gut feeling that Ulquiorra was waiting for him where their first encounter took place; in the park. He needed to get there as fast as possible. He didn't want to leave Nozomi in his hands. She was his first priority. His face was stern and filled with determination. His mind was focused on the road ahead of him until he seemed to be easily brought back to a thought he could not avoid. 'I hope Rukia is all right…'

_He knew he was holding Nozomi hostage to make sure he wouldn't miss their rendez-vous. Ichigo still wasn't sure about what he had decided, but knew he was getting her back either way. He was running on the sidewalk when suddenly he heard a screech and saw a van hit its breaks in front of him. He was taken by surprise._

_He ran over and felt his entire body go numb. There she was. She was about five feet away from the van, which had a cracked windshield and could only be assumed that she had slammed into that. _

_Her body was twisted. Her leg looked broken as she lied on her side. Her arm was under her body in most likely a terrible condition and her face had obvious blood on it. Her cheek had slammed into the gravel and some glass fragments from the windshield were slightly under her skin. She looked so fragile… so helpless. Ichigo's heart fell into his stomach. As soon as his shock dispersed, he went to her and quickly picked her up into his arms and went down an alley before anyone could process a floating body being carried away._

_He sat her down on the ground and bent down as he began to wipe away the blood on her face, along with the pieces of glass. Her head continued to drop from the weight. She was breathing and that was enough to keep Ichigo as calm as possible. _

_He saw her eyes flutter and spoke to see if she was awake. "Rukia… Do you know where you are?"_

_She spoke weakly with her eyes still shut, but she looked as if she was in another world, "No… I don't."_

_Ichigo's eyebrows were knitted together in concern. He picked her up bridal style and began to run. "I'll get you help Rukia. I promise."_

_

* * *

_

"_Ichigo! What are you- What happened?!" Orihime yelled seeing Ichigo come through the doors in his shinigami attire with Rukia badly wounded in his arms._

"_Please," he said through gasps of breath. "Take care of her," he added with pleading eyes that told the world he would die if anything happened to her._

_His look left Orihime speechless. Her eyes were wide and her mouth slightly ajar. She then understood quickly. "Of course," she said softly as Ishida rushed over to take her from him._

_He watched Ishida carry her to the back stairs. "I have to go," he said reluctantly._

_She smiled softly. "I know. Go take care of whatever that is. She'll be fine now… thanks to you."_

_He nodded, spun around and flew out the doors._

"She'll be fine. I just know it," he said out loud to himself as he entered the park gates.

* * *

Orihime wasn't sure how, but at that very moment she was holding the exact Rukia she was always meant to be holding. She wasn't sure how long they had been crying tears of joy either, but suddenly Rukia pulled away. 

"Nozomi," she said with concern written all over her.

"Ichigo went after her. She'll be fine," Orihime said reassuringly.

Rukia stood up and began to raise her voice, "You can't expect me to sit here while my daughter and the f-"

"Rukia, please. You almost got yourself killed for trying to go after both of them. Let him deal with this. You know he's more than capable," Orihime interrupted.

"Do you realize that whatever the hell is letting out that much spiritual pressure is definitely much bigger than just any hollow?! I don't know how powerful Ichigo is now that he's not human anymore. I don't know if he's changed. I can't risk Nozomi on a chance that he is exactly the same," Rukia reasoned.

Orihime stood up now. "But what can you do, Rukia?" she asked softly, trying to explain how the situation really was. "What can you do when you can't leave your gigai?"

Rukia's violet eyes locked with Orihime's for what seemed like an immeasurable time. Finally, Rukia sighed. She walked over to her dresser and opened the top drawer. She pulled out a red glove. "Then I'll leave it," she said calmly.

"You can't!" Orihime exclaimed. "If you leave you'll be found! You _and_ Nozomi! Think about your daughter!"

Rukia furrowed her eyebrows and looked off to the side. Her voice remained calm, yet strong. "You see, Orihime. That's just it," she then looked up, back into her friend's eyes. "I am thinking of her," she said before turning around and running out of the room.

She made her way down the stairs to the café. Orihime chased after her. She knew she couldn't stop her now if she tried, but she ran after her anyway, knowing that there were still certain people downstairs.

Rukia was a little too fast for her friend and by the time she reached the counter; she was met with someone she would have never expected. Her eyes grew wide and her jaw almost fell to the floor.

"Byak-Byakuya?" she questioned, finally able to move her jaw. Byakuya was a little surprised to see her as well because she came flying down those stairs like a bat out of hell. Behind him stood Unohana, Momo, Rangiku, Chad and Tatsuki. "How did you know I was here?" she then asked beginning to worry.

Byakuya looked up at Orihime who trailed behind her. Rukia turned to glance at what he was looking at. She sighed in understanding. "Never mind, it doesn't matter right now," she said, making her way around him and towards the doors in a hurry.

"Rukia! Where are you going?!" Rangiku asked in confusion, causing Rukia to turn around as she was halfway through the doors. She locked eyes with her for a moment and then spoke calmly. "I'm going to bring them back." She then twirled around and began running.

Byakuya took a step forward. "Let's go," he said, signaling Unohana, Momo and Rangiku to follow him. "We need to catch up with the others."

* * *

"There was no reason to bring the kid into this," Ichigo said irritated. He could see her standing directly behind the emerald eyed man. She peaked around him and Ichigo could see tear tracks down her cheek. 

"It got you here, didn't it?" Ulquiorra responded apathetically.

"You can let her go now. I'm here."

"Fine," he responded pushing the girl in front of him, causing her to run straight to the orange headed man. She wrapped her arms around one of his legs.

"Now tell me what you've decided, Kurosaki," he said plainly.

"Answer one question first."

"I told you I wouldn't until you agreed."

"Well this is gonna determine if my decision," he answered stubbornly. "You said the shinigami did something to me. What did you mean?"

Ulquiorra looked back at him as if you could tell he was deciding at that moment to answer him or not. "They toyed with your mind," he said simply.

Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed. "What the hell do you mean?"

"They erased certain memories so that you would be beneficial to them. In other words, you're their puppet."

Ichigo eyed the man ahead of him carefully. "You're- you're lying. I couldn't possibly believe something like that."

"Don't try and convince yourself otherwise. You know full well that it's possible," he replied. Ichigo stayed silent for a moment. "It all is starting to make sense, isn't it?" the arrancar replied. "Things that have happened to you lately… things that you didn't understand…"

Ichigo's scowl deepened and his nostrils flared. "Why would they do that?"

"Because you're more likely to obey them without that certain factor contributing to your judgments."

"And what factor was that?" Ichigo pushed for more information as his teeth began to grind.

"Should I take that as acceptance to our agreement?" he chided.

"Why should I agree to you?! You're only after whatever the damn shinigami are after!" Ichigo began to yell louder and louder, and with each second, Nozomi wrapped her arms tighter around him and clenched her eyes shut.

"I want what everyone ever wants. Even what you want," he replied lacking emotion.

Ichigo let out a growl. "I don't want anything like that. I could care less!" Nozomi let out a scream and began to run away, even towards Ulquiorra. The sight of Ichigo was changing…

Ichigo continued, "_You _want power?! _You_ want control?!" His eyes glazed over with blackness, "Well you're not getting shit from me!" He darted towards Ulquiorra, but as Nozomi was about to pass by, he grabbed her and held her in front of him.

'_Ichigo'_ didn't look phased and continued towards him with full speed. He began to open his hand, readying a cero until he was held back by three zanpaktou.

His face twisted into a maniacal grin. He easily threw the three shinigami off him and charged towards the redheaded one.

Renji blocked a few times, but was weak compared to him. He received a deep gash near his ribs and was saved by Shuuhei, who had begun to attack him.

'_Ichigo'_ was fighting in a way that looked laid back and he seemed amused about the entire situation. He blocked Shuuhei's swing and punched him the gut with his other hand, which made him go flying a few feet away.

Toushirou charged at him with his zanpaktou positioned for a powerful swing, but _'Ichigo'_ held his hand out in front of him and sent a cero straight at him. He tried to shield himself with his blade, but he went flying back into a building.

The hybrid stood there for a moment, breathing slightly heavily.

"Ichigo…" he heard said softly behind him. He felt a shiver down his spine from the angelic voice that didn't seem to care what part of him was acting on its own free will as the moment.

He turned around and was met with beautiful amethyst eyes. He didn't understand why, but he hesitated before attacking. Her eyes were pulling him into a world of unfolding mysteries. In her arms was her daughter, who had her legs wrapped around Rukia's waist. She whispered, "Sweetie, I want you to go to the man with the long black hair behind me. Okay?"

"But mommy. Something's wrong with Ichi!" she replied.

"I know. I'm gonna help him. Just please go and stand with that man."

Nozomi frowned, "Okay mommy," she said with disappointment. Rukia kissed her temple and let her down. She watched her begin to run behind her and then focused on the man in front of her. Their eyes locked again.

Her elegant violets portrayed sincerity, calm, pleading, but oddly enough, what was distinctly seen the most was exhaustion.

She was tired. She had been through so much over the years and to have everything repeat again made it strenuous. This was her chance. She remembered everything and now she had to fix it. With Ichigo in this state, it was going to be hell, but she had to believe she could get through to him before anything disastrous happens.

She pulled on the red glove and very smoothly pulled herself out of her gigai.

"What the hell is she doing?!" Rangiku yelled before she took a step forward to stop her, but Momo got in her way.

"Let her do this," Momo said, looking at the scene ahead of them still with her arm stretched in front of Rangiku to prevent her from going forward.

Nozomi grabbed the end of Byakuya's shinigami coat and began tugging it to get his attention. "Mommy's in two places at once!"

His eyes went wide at first, but then softened. The smallest smile showed on his lips as this was the first time he had ever seen his niece.

Rukia began walking forward. She marveled at the feeling at being out of her gigai after all these years, but remained focused. She saw the hollow's eyes widen with surprise and with that, his hands flew to his face. It was evident that there was an internal battle occurring. Something must have triggered the sudden alteration in power. _'Ichigo'_ let out whimpers of control every few seconds as he continued to have his hands over his face.

_I'll be there for you when the sky falls down  
I'll be there for you when no one's around  
I'll be there for you when there's no way out and you're down  
and you frown_

Her face went sad and emotions started to take over as she watched the man she loves struggle for sanity. She began a slow and steady walk to the man about twenty feet away. "A long time ago, you told me that you wouldn't give up any of the moments we spent together. Not one," she said softly.

_I know life won't go your way  
and you never know what to say  
when you have nothing left  
I'll still love you more_

She continued to walk slowly. "And now I want to tell you, that neither would I. Even after all of the years we've spent apart and all of the torturous things we've been through, I wouldn't redo any of it," she said with tears beginning to form. "Because it's all led me right back to you."

_I'll be there for you through your deepest fears  
I'll be there for you 'till the smoke clears  
I'll be there for you when you see no end and your friends  
are all gone_

"You've always been the strongest. You've always held on when I might have already given up," she took a deep breath to stop her emotions from getting the best of her. "So don't give up yet, Ichigo. I haven't." She paused. "So come back to me. Come back to your family. Come back to your daughter."

_I know life won't go your way  
and you never know what to say  
when you have nothing left  
I'll still love you more_

'_Ichigo'_ let out a louder scream. Nozomi jumped and went with her instinct. "Mommy!" she yelled and ran to her, thinking she could somehow protect her.

The voice of the little girl seemed to break him of his hold and his black eyes returned as he gripped Zangetsu tighter and charged for Nozomi who was practically fifteen feet behind her.

_You could turn your back or run a thousand miles away  
I'll be waiting for you with nothing left to say but_

Rukia's breath got caught in her throat as she saw him lung his sword forward in anticipation of the hit. Before she could really think, she jumped in front of him about ten feet away from Nozomi.

_I'll be there for you when nothing can go wrong  
I'll be there for you when you sing a joyful song  
I'll be there for you when your smile lights the room  
and your gloom is all gone_

The blade went into her upper abdomen smoothly and completely through. Her body was practically entirely touching Ichigo's. Her hands that were in midair had fallen to rest on his chest. Ichigo's eyes turned back to shining ambers from the tears that were too shocked to fall. "Rukia…" he said with a trembling voice.

_I know life won't go your way  
and you never know what to say  
when you have nothing left  
I'll still love you more_

A lone tear fell down her cheek as a small smile formed on her lips. When she spoke, Ichigo felt like it was the only thing happening at that very moment in time; everything else ceased to exist. With a flicker in her eyes, she said, "I'll always love, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Her body went limp and his hand let go of Zangetsu so that he could wrap one arm around her waist and the other hand on her cheek.

_life won't go your way  
and you never know what to say  
when you have nothing left_

Her eyelids fell shut and he lost any restraint on his emotions. He clenched his eyes shut and sobbed uncontrollably as he pressed his forehead against hers. Nothing stung more than the rain drops that began to fall, except the broken and guilty heart…

_I'll still love you more_

* * *

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That's intense huh? Yeah. I don't know if you guys would have gotten it so I'm just gonna say something. The part where Ichigo is asking where Rukia is in his flashback, that's supposed to be at the same time Rukia is in her little revelation dream when the 'voice' asks her where she is. Also, the part where Rukia says that Ichigo said he wouldn't give up any moment that they had together or something like that – that's in the 2nd chap of leaving town when they're saying goodbye. And that's how Rukia says she loves him for the first time. Oh! And the mystery of the father is revealed. Well, I hope it was somewhat mysterious. If it wasn't, lie to me and say it was. Haha. Um, I really don't know what to say so. My faithful readers: please tell me what's going on in those minds of yours. Don't be shy. Later


	11. Walking By

**A/N:** A week isn't so bad, right? I really tried to get it out fast. I hope this makes you happy. I was talking with some friends and they were saying how everyone seems to copy me on many things. And from that I said that people follow me, and I'm like a religion. Yeah, I don't know why I told you that, but it's called bonding. I feel like we've all grown close through all this time, so why not share useless information? Haha anyways! Um, didn't proof read – forgive errors. Let's see, what else? Um, the song in this chap kind of goes, but you might have to read into it more. It was hard to pick something. I don't know. I had trouble. So it's named after, "Walking By," by Holiday Parade, which is such a good song, just might not go that well. Hah. So, I'll let you read now. Enjoy.

Claimer – I'm a religion…

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* * *

_Chapter 11: Walking By_

"Let go, Kurosaki," the voice said once again, which finally broke through to him. He lifted his head from Rukia's and looked at Byakuya's obviously angered face with red eyes.

"I- I didn't mean- It wasn't me- I would never do this!" Ichigo yelled with Rukia still held tightly against him.

"Kurosaki, follow orders and step away," his captain commanded while allowing Unohana to pass and approach his sister.

Ichigo closed his eyes tightly to stop the tears and then looked at Rukia's still face one last time. He caressed her cheek and pressed his lips slightly against hers. He lifted the tiniest bit and whispered, "I'm so sorry…… I lov-"

"Ichigo Kurosaki, may I have a word with you," Toushirou said from the side, with a gash on the side of his forehead and what looked to be a wounded arm.

He looked at him with pain, then back down at Rukia. He gently laid her on the ground and walked away hesitantly. He watched Unohana bend down next to her.

"What's going on?" Renji asked wobbling up next to Toushirou as Ichigo walked up.

Ichigo kept his gaze on the ground. He wouldn't dare look to see the expression on Renji's face when he heard about Rukia. He rather not have seen the fatal blow when it hit. He felt a presence walk up behind him, but refused to turn and look; not caring about anything anymore.

He saw Toushirou nod from his peripheral vision and then heard him speak. "Vice Captain of the 6th Squad, Ichigo Kurosaki, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of the former Vice Captain of the 13th Squad, Rukia Kuchiki. The thirteen guard squad captains will be the judges of your punishment. Please do not make us use force to bring you back to Soul Society." Toushirou spoke formally, yet there was a hint of regret.

Ichigo's head popped up by the statement he had just heard. Renji was shocked as well; he had no idea what was going on due to him being knocked unconscious.

"But I didn't mean to- I mean, it wasn't me! I had not contro- wait. Did you say the attempted murder?!" Ichigo exclaimed. He turned around with incredible speed to look back at Rukia, but found himself looking at not just any Captain, but Zaraki Kenpachi.

Ichigo scowled deeply and then took a step to the side. He began to step forward but Zaraki held his arm in front of him and pushed him back.

"Vice Captain Kurosaki, please come back to Soul Society now without struggle. It will be easier this way if you cooperate. And it would help our judgment," Toushirou said with almost a pleading voice.

"I need to go to her! If she's alive, let me see her! Let me go, damn it! Let me go to her!" Ichigo yelled as he struggled in Zaraki's grip to get free.

Toushirou sighed. "Captain Kenpachi, we have reason to take action. Please proceed."

Ichigo began to cry as he could see over his shoulder that Unohana was healing her. "Just let me go to her," he pleaded through a sob, until Zaraki hit him over the head with the hilt of his sword and knocked him out into a world that was better to be in than his own.

* * *

Her eyes fluttered open, revealing a blurry vision. She began to sit up and look around, then realizing she was on a bed. Her eyes were then met with another's.

"How are you feeling, Rukia?" the sincere woman asked.

Rukia blinked a few times. And then spoke questionably, "Unohana?" The woman smiled and gave a nod. Rukia began to get up and left the bed.

"Well if you're that fine, there's no point in delaying it," Unohana said sadly. Two men walked up from the room's door and stood firmly.

"Rukia Kuchiki, we have orders to bring you to the main hall for your trial to commence."

Rukia shook her head, still feeling dizzy and groggy. She squinted at the men, "Excuse me? Trial? Wait, where is Nozomi?" she said beginning to panic.

"She's fine, Rukia. But right now the only thing you can do is follow these guards," Unohana said, feeling anything but helpful.

Rukia frowned, "Fine. Do what you must," she said, making the men move to bind her hands behind her back.

They led her out of the room and towards their destination.

* * *

He awoke in the main hall with his hands tied behind his back in a chair facing the many observers of what would soon be his trial. In the front of the audience were the third seats and then proceeded back according to rank. To his far left was where both the captains and vice captains sat, acting as what would be the jury, and halfway between them and himself sat Yamamoto.

The crowd was getting anxious and rowdy, but then suddenly, it went quiet. Everyone looked in one direction, and it wasn't at Ichigo.

He stretched as much as he could in order to see until finally, his view was clear. There she was; alive and somehow walking back into his life whenever he pushes her away.

_It's about the nights we spent  
locked up inside your room  
it's about the morning breaking  
always just a bit too soon_

She looked sad and from what he could tell, afraid. But she seemed to be doing her best to hide it. 'Why is she being treated like a prisoner? I should be the only one on trial here,' he thought, feeling guilt.

_It's about the way you're scared  
baby, just maybe I'm aware  
this is what you need 'cause_

She was brought directly in front of Yamamoto, but her eyes drifted away from him and locked with Ichigo's amber eyes. He figured she would show hatred towards him, but he saw anything but that in her eyes.

_Every time you walk in the room  
can't help myself  
I want to be with you  
hit the mic, a quick check  
one, two - singing out my lungs  
just to reach you_

Rukia's heart sunk seeing Ichigo waiting there to take the stand. She knew it wasn't his fault, but that didn't seem to matter. They both had to face their actions, so she took a deep breath and turned to look at Yamamoto.

_I'm alive  
and I keep my cool one more time  
and you just keep on walking by_

"Former Vice Captain of the 13th Squad, Rukia Kuchiki. Please take the stand," the old man commanded. She nodded and walked to her destination. 'My life could not possibly get any worse. I still believe this will all be okay,' she told herself and sitting down.

_I take a day to tell myself  
I'm going to end up fine  
it's all part of some master plan  
we're all a little lost inside_

'The way Ichigo looked at me- he seemed surprised; as if I shouldn't be looking at him at all. But I could never hold what happened against him. No matter what, I always seem to come back to him.'

_Even if I run right now  
swore you off  
I'd still come back somehow  
and here I am now_

"Kuchiki, you are being charged on two accounts," Yamamoto began, causing Rukia to turn her head in surprise at the old man. She knew she was being charged for running from Soul Society, but… "One, for exiling yourself from Soul Society. Two, for giving birth to a human child."

_Every time you walk in the room  
can't help myself  
I want to be with you  
hit the mic, a quick check  
one, two - singing out my lungs  
just to reach you_

Rukia felt her stomach turn. Nozomi was human, but she thought nothing of it. This entire trial took a turn, not only was she in danger, but now Nozomi was. She took a deep breath.

_I'm alive  
and I keep my cool one more time  
and you just keep on walking by_

"Due to this fact, this means the father must be a human being as well. We believe we may know who that may be due to recent investigations. Is the father of the name, Ren Hyogo?" Rukia's eyes widened in surprise, "No," she said shocked.

_I take a day to soak you in  
for a while  
I'm hanging on the best I can  
Let go  
cause maybe if I felt it once  
Then I could somehow feel it again_

"Whoever the father is, we will find out. So it is best to tell us now due to the possible lessen of punishment." She couldn't tell them. Ichigo wasn't human anymore, but he was when she became pregnant. She didn't want to risk him getting any deeper than he already was. She looked over at Ichigo, who still had no idea.

_Every time you walk in the room  
can't help myself  
I want to be with you  
hit the mic, a quick check  
one, two singing out my lungs  
just to reach you_

"There is no need to know anything about the father. He, himself, has no idea about Nozomi. As for her, I did not plan on having her, but I do not regret it. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I will die before I let anything happen to her," she said with bitterness.

_I'm alive  
and I keep my cool one more time  
and you just keep on walking by_

"Ms. Kuchiki, it's either protect the life of your child, or protect the life of the father. The choice is yours. We cannot have this crime going unpunished, and due to the fact that the child is not fully human, we have given permission to the Institute of Technology to undergo their research on this unusual and rare case."

_Every time you walk in the room  
can't help myself  
I want to be with you  
hit the mic, a quick check  
one, two singing out my lungs  
just to reach you_

"Research?! She's not a lab rat! You can't just run your little tests on her! She's a child! She's my daughter, damn it!" Rukia yelled in rage. The images of what they would do to her made her feel sick to her stomach.

Yamamoto raised his voice to make his point, "Then tell us who the father is."

She looked over at Ichigo with a worried expression on her face then looked down with a deep scowl. "The father is-"

"Wait!" cried someone from the side.

_I'm alive  
and I keep my cool one more time  
and you just keep on walking by_

Rukia's heart jumped from the yell. "This trial should have nothing to do with her. I was the one who almost murdered her. _I_ should be on that stand!" Ichigo yelled, getting angry.

Rukia looked at him sadly. "Silence, Kurosaki. You'll have you're turn soon enough," he said harshly and then focused on Rukia once again. "You were saying, Ms. Kuchiki?"

Rukia sighed, "I was saying… The father is… is… dead."

The whole hall went into a frenzy of murmurs. No one had apparently expected this. Yamamoto then yelled, "Silence!" which made everyone do just that. His voice grew soft. "Then it is my regretful duty to result to the only thing left. Nozomi Kuchiki will be left in the hands of Soul Society's Institute of Technology and Rukia Kuchiki will be put to death for committing two acts of treason; bearing a human child and abandoning Soul Society." He waved for assistance, "Take her to her holding cell."

Rukia was shocked, but only for a moment. By the time Renji and Shuuhei grabbed a hold of her arms; she was flailing about and screaming at the top of her lungs. "No! You can't do that to her! She's just a little girl! An innocent little girl! I can't let you do this!" she yelled giving the two officers more trouble than anyone could believe.

Once they finally got a good hold of her and began to drag her away backwards, she was crying and whimpering for them to change their judgment. "Please… I don't care what you do to me… just let her go. Please… let my baby go…" she said right before they exited the doors. And before the doors swung closed, her eyes locked with Ichigo's.

Ichigo's entire body was numb. It was his entire fault. This would have never happened if he hadn't done what he did. Rukia wouldn't have been found and this would not be happening right now. Because of him, the two people in his life that he had ever cared the most for were now going to be taken out of his life.

"Vice Captain of the 6th Squad, Ichigo Kurosaki, please take the stand."

Ichigo was still looking at the doors that Rukia had been dragged out of. She was being locked away and put to death, but yet it felt even worse then it should. Somehow, in Ichigo's mind, he felt like this wasn't the first time he had put someone he cared about in danger like this. And because of that feeling, it was killing him even more to have let it happen again.

"I'll repeat. Vice Captain of the 6th Squad, Ichigo Kurosaki, please take the stand," he said again with more irritation.

Ichigo continued to look at the doors and then he spoke softly. "No."

"Excuse me?" the old man questioned, followed by many whispers around the hall.

Ichigo then turned his head to look at him. His voice stayed the same soft tone, but his eyes revealed a tiredness that no one would have expected; tiredness that no one would blame him for having, yet it seemed surprising due to lack of knowledge of his history. "I said 'No'."

"Are you refusing to take part in your trial? You would be denying any chance you have of saving your life. Are you willing to do that?" he asked, feeling confident that the young man would want to reconsider.

Ichigo looked down at the floor for a moment. "I realize that, sir," he said, raising his head to look at him again. "I don't deserve a chance to be saved. What I did may not have been on purpose, but it resulted in more pain than it did literally. I'll take the punishment head on."

Yamamoto stared him in the eyes for a moment, astonished at his actions, but then gave a single nod. "Ichigo Kurosaki will be put to death. Case closed." The hall was silent as they watched two captains stand and make there way over to the accused and claimed guilty.

Byakuya and Toushirou stood and guided Ichigo out the same doors they saw Rukia exit through. Ichigo thought back to the time he had met Nozomi. She was wearing pigtails and a bright little smile. He had realized that he would be the cause for that smile to fall; the cause for it to never form again.

His mind then flew to the moment he ran into Rukia at the café. When he bent down to help with the food she had dropped because of him. When his eyes first rested on those beautiful violet gateways to another world; a world that he knew he had crumbled; a world that would only see darkness as time passed by.

And with those thoughts he held as he continued to follow his comrades towards what he could only presume was his waiting room to death, a tear flew down his cheek; a tear that represented his regret, pain and so much more.

The wind whistled by, carrying only slightly what could be determined as a whisper. "I'm sorry."

* * *

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I know it's short. I'm sorry. (I sound like Ichigo up there) I didn't want to keep going because adding the next part I think would make it too long, which would mean you would have to wait even longer and I didn't want you to wait that long. So, maybe you could consider what I did a nice thing? Perhaps? Well anyways, I've realized this story is miserable. Haha, yeah. There are so few happy moments compared to tear filled. It's getting difficult on MY soul. Yeah, that's when you know you have been either depressed for too long or just need to think happy more. I don't know. Haha. But I feel like I'm getting back into the writing mood even though it's hard to find time to do it. So as always, tell me what you guys think. It's good to hear your opinions about this story and my thoughts. Until next time, Later


	12. How To Call A Bluff

**A/N:** This was fast for me! I'm excited about it! Alright so I want to thank you guys for reviewing! And to the unsigned review from HI, Ichigo does not remember anything right now. Yeah, he's as slow as always. Don't worry. He'll remember soon. Ok, so I don't have much to say this time. The chap was named after the song, "How to Call a Bluff," by My Favorite Highway. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. That includes food. I haven't eaten dinner yet and I'm starved. I'm ordering out.

* * *

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_Chapter 12: How to Call a Bluff_

She was walking in a large open field of flowers. She saw possibly everyone she knew in this same field; all seeming to enjoy themselves.

Uryuu was playing with water guns with Ryo, Nozomi, Chad and Shuuhei. Orihime then bent down and picked up a little girl about three years old and began to comfort her due to a bee flying near the little girl's head. Orihime then handed over a picnic basket to Tatsuki, who wore a fake smile due to the anticipated food in the said basket. Tatsuki looked up and smiled at a little boy who called out, "Mommy."

Renji was seen swinging the said little boy around in the air. Byakuya, who had a little boy with bright orange hair on his shoulders, began to walk towards Unohana who was sitting beside Rangiku, Momo and Toushirou. Rangiku was testing the two with questions on how well they knew each other to see how good of a couple they were. She was reading it out of a magazine.

Rukia stood there watching it all. It was so surreal. She couldn't help but smile at the pure bliss around her. She then felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind. She jumped slightly, but relaxed into the familiar feeling. She closed her eyes and leaned back into his body with a smile on her face.

"Why on earth is a beautiful woman like you standing alone on such a wonderful day like today?" he said softly into her ear.

She raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Well my husband went away on business. And I believe he would kill you if he saw exactly what you were doing right now."

He chuckled. "Are you so sure? Maybe he would applaud me for not giving up a chance like this," he said, following with kisses down her neck and onto her bare shoulder.

She turned around in his arms and wrapped her own around his neck. "Hm, you're not as good looking as my husband." she said smiling widely.

He smiled, "Oh really? Well I bet this will change you're mind," he said, closing the gap between them and placing his lips on hers gently.

He pulled away. "He can kiss better too," she said innocently with a smirk.

He scowled, "'_Can kiss better'_ my ass!" he said, forcefully capturing her lips into a much more passionate kiss.

When they finally pulled away, she was left breathless, which made him smile in victory. She rested her head against his chest, "Mr. Kurosaki is definitely getting lucky tonight."

Rukia opened her eyes and saw she was in a dark cell. She sighed, realizing it was all just a dream. It seemed to perfect; so right. But it was too good to be true.

She thought long and hard for the next minutes that passed. 'Is this really worth it? It's just a vicious cycle that never succeeds in getting what we want. All we receive is pain. Maybe we truly aren't meant to be together…'

She lied back down on the floor and tried with all her might to go back to sleep. She wanted to go into another dream of non-existing happiness.

She succeeded on falling asleep, but found that she wasn't alone in this dream. She sat watching him stare curiously at the past…

* * *

Ichigo sat on the cold, hard floor in his dark cell with his back against the wall. His head was bowed down so that his chin rested against his collar bone. He had been slipping in and out of sleep. He had no idea how long he had been in there; a day; two; maybe a week.

His sanity was deteriorating. That was the worst thing they could have done to him; leave him alone so that he could eat himself alive.

He felt himself drift off into sleep again.

"Where am I?" he asked, looking around the room. He walked slowly to the desk where he turned on a light. On it, sat a letter with a red glove next to it. The envelope read, '_Ichigo_'. He was about to open it, but was interrupted.

_Lonely, stubborn and complacent  
You have insisted on leaving me here  
Writing the same song I started last year_

"You always took so long to figure out the simplest things," she said with a hint of amusement in her voice. She sat with her back against the wall of the windowsill and her legs resting on the windowsill's ledge. She looked straight ahead at her feet, but he could see a smile on the side of her face.

_Lovely conjunctions and phrases  
Plays on a few words, that you never meant_

_I must have misread all of the signals that you never sent_

Ichigo looked at her curiously and then back down at the letter in his hands.

"I tried to explain what a shinigami was and that turned out just great. I mean, you ended up throwing a table across the room, if I recall," she said softly with a chuckle.

She continued to avoid looking directly at him and turned her head to look at the sky, where the moon shined brightly in the clear night.

_It's a bitter sweet life, and it's leaving me a-ok  
It's a bitter sweet life, I have loved and lost my heart along the way_

Ichigo glared with confusion. He didn't really stop to think about it until just then. Rukia was a shinigami. How could he not have seen that before? He opened his mouth to question, but was cut off.

"What has it been now? About seventeen years? We were so young…" she said with her same calm tone.

Ichigo stepped away from the desk and a step closer to the bed that was between him and the window.

_Maybe I could still hold you  
Or you could call if you feel so inclined  
Please take your time locating whatever you're trying to find_

"So much has happened between us in all of these years, yet so few of these years were actually spent together," she then looked down into her lap where her smile fell. "I feel like I've been fighting to be with you since the very beginning."

_Maybe it's time to let go  
But I'm too scared and so unprepared  
How do I forget, every moment in time that we shared?_

She then looked up at him with her eyes shining in the night. "And if we continue to lose time after time, maybe all we'll ever be is a dream; something we can only look back on and cherish what we had."

Finally Ichigo spoke up. "I- I don't understand."

_It's a bitter sweet life, and it's leaving me a-ok  
It's a bitter sweet life, I have loved and lost my heart along the way_

She frowned with pure sadness in her eyes. "Don't you see, Ichigo? That's just it. Every time we get close, we get pulled away and we have to start all over again. We keep finding each other because we think we can change it, but we can't. We're just setting ourselves up for a lifetime's worth of heartache."

_I'm calling your bluff  
I have toyed with the idea of burning your stuff_

Ichigo was getting angry. "I still don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds like you're giving up. Just tell me what's going on! What am I missing?!"

_This is so rough  
And it's as if deserting me wasn't enough_

She looked at his frustrated form and admired his will to fight, but then finally replied. "Everything." She looked around the room as the memories seemed to overpower her emotions and tears began to softly fall down her cheeks.

_Well I've had enough  
I'm calling your bluff_

She closed her eyes tightly to stop the falling of tears and then opened them to look at him again. "Read the letter, Ichigo. When you're done, wake up. And then, if you still don't remember, I'm stopping this never-ending torment. So that if there's some way we can live through this, we can finally stop this heartache that continues to return."

_It's a bitter sweet life, and it's leaving me a-ok  
It's a bitter sweet life, I have loved and lost my heart along the way_

Ichigo's eyes locked with hers and then he looked down at the letter once again. He heard a soft ruffle and when he looked up he saw her hair drifting behind her as she jumped out into the night.

He inched to go after her, but realized it would be useless. He looked at the envelope again and continued to graze the front of it with his thumbs. Finally, he sat down on the bed, took it out of the envelope, and began to read:

"_**I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow,  
And each road leads you where you want to go,  
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,  
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.  
And if one door opens to another door closed,  
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,  
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,  
But more than anything, more than anything…"**_

Ichigo awoke abruptly, slightly out of breath.

_It's a bitter sweet life, and it's leaving me a-ok  
It's a bitter sweet life, I have loved and lost my heart along the way_

* * *

Rukia opened her eyes and let her cheek rest on the cold floor. She whispered softly, "Please remember…"

"Rukia," a voice said from behind the bars. She looked up and saw Renji with surprise. She had not seen anyone for days. She stood up quickly and approached the bars slowly.

She eyed him curiously, "What do you want?" she said harshly.

He gave her an apologetic look. "I want you to be happy," he said, which received a sarcastic laugh in reply. "Let me finish," Renji added. "You've been treated terribly for many years now; ripped of any happiness you ever had. Just… let me help you one more time," he said pulling out a key and unlocking the door.

He swung the door open and Rukia's face showed shock. "Why?" she asked in confusion.

He looked at her as if she should know better. "Because we all still care about you, regardless on what you may think." She stepped out of the cell and stopped in front of him.

"They haven't done anything to her yet. And Byakuya's seeing _him_ at the moment." He handed her her zanpaktou. "Go."

She grabbed it hesitantly and then looked up with gratitude written all over her face. "Thanks."

He smirked, "Just get out of here, will ya? You get yourself locked up too much."

She glared with a smirk and ran out of the room.

* * *

She made her way as fast as she could to the Institute of Technology. She was more than determined to save her daughter. At the moment, that's all she cared about. Her brother was with Ichigo, so she knew he was fine. Nozomi needed her.

As she rounded a corner, she halted and hid as she heard Rangiku and Toushirou running up.

"How the hell did this happen?! Why don't we have tighter security?! You'd think we would, considering they are holding two people for the death penalty!" Rangiku shouted.

"This was they're plan. They wanted us distracted by Kuchiki and Kurosaki. They have Nozomi now and they're headed toward the gate. We have to make it!" Toushirou replied turning the corner.

Rukia's eyes were wide. Her little girl was being taken… She moved faster than she had ever moved before. She could sense Nozomi's reiatsu and felt her getting closer and closer. She must have been picking up speed. Finally she saw them. Ulquiorra held her under his arm as he approached the gate that would most likely take them to Hueco Mundo.

* * *

"Kurosaki, get up," a strong voice said from the other side of the bars.

He looked up and saw his captain standing tall. He didn't even see him come in. "Byakuya. What are you-"

"I said, 'Get up,'" he repeated somewhat harshly.

Ichigo frowned and complied, walking over to the bars. The older man spoke. "Ever since I first saw you, and I mean when I _first_ saw you, I knew you were trouble. I knew you would break all the rules and cause total chaos in every way possible," he paused. "And here you are now, after almost killing my sister," he paused again. Those words hit Ichigo like a stab in the heart.

Byakuya continued. "So here is where you must decide. Are you going to let everything you've worked for up to this point wash away by letting the misfortunes judge your future? Or are you going to be the same cocky, stubborn boy that risked his life for someone else the first time I saw him?"

The captain of the sixth squad turned around and walked halfway through the door. He spoke with his back to Ichigo. "Just because the door's locked, doesn't mean you shouldn't try to push through it," he said before completely disappearing out the room.

Ichigo frowned. He gripped the bars firmly and bent his head towards the floor. "What am I supposed to do?" he said softly. He was growing irritated. "What am I supposed to do?!" he yelled, shaking the bars with rage.

And oddly enough, when he shook the bars, he found the door was open. His mouth hung ajar as shock washed over him. He stepped through the door slowly and saw Zangetsu leaning against the wall. He grabbed it and then looked back at the door. He then looked at the exit and smirked. "I knew he always liked me," he said, running out of the door.

* * *

Once he exited the door, he stopped as he felt an all too familiar reiatsu passing by him. He immediately took off after her. Finally, he saw her and in the far distance he saw Ulquiorra. He was headed towards a gate.

Ichigo was gaining speed and getting closer and closer to Rukia. Ulquiorra went through the gate and he saw that Rukia had no intention of stopping and the gate was beginning to close. He couldn't allow her to go in there by herself. They would find another way; together.

Rukia dashed through the closing gate as Ichigo was now close enough to reach for her wrist. He stretched with all his might, but just when he grazed her skin, he was pulled back with great force.

The gate closed and Kenpachi held Ichigo tight in his grip with Yamamoto behind him.

"Let me go, damn it! You have no right!" he yelled thrashing around in the stronger man's grip.

"We have all the right," Yamamoto replied.

Ichigo gritted his teeth. "After all the fucking bullshit you've put us through, I should kill you!" he screamed almost getting out of Kenpachi's grasp.

The old man squinted at the younger man. "By what do you mean, Kurosaki?"

"You know what the fuck I mean, old man! Erasing my memory twice, and telling everyone I died! What kind of fucked up, old man are you?! Why can't you leave us the hell alone?!" he yelled with complete take over of his emotions.

Yamamoto spoke with calmness. "It was not my decision."

"Then who the hell's was it?!" Ichigo questioned with burning ambers.

"The Spirit King."

* * *

Once Rukia got through, she stopped. She wasn't in Hueco Mundo like she thought she'd be. She looked around. It looked like what she had only heard of in stories told when she was younger. She was in a great palace. Far ahead of her sat a man on the throne. She approached cautiously until she could see who exactly sat on the throne. Her mouth fell open and her body went numb. "How is this possible?" she pushed the words out of her mouth.

There he was sitting there when everyone believed for this ex-shinigami captain to be dead. Nothing looked strange about him. His hair was slicked back as usual and his eyes held the same amount of power as they always did.

"Ah Miss Kuchiki. I should be offended of your assumptions," he said with a smirk. "Anything is possible. As a matter of fact, I thought you would believe that more than anyone considering your beloved is still alive after all that has happened. Oh and by the way, how is Ichigo? Being accused of attempted murder on the one he loves has to do some incredible work on the mind," he smirked.

"How do you kn-" Rukia glared suspiciously.

"And to escape from your cell after your sentence is no easy feat. I would love to hear how you managed that," he interrupted with an amused look.

Rukia was now understanding. She gripped her zanpaktou tightly. "Where is Nozomi?" she asked in determintation.

Aizen motioned his hand and Ulquiorra came up from behind her and held her in a tight grip.

"Now now. Is there really any need for violence? I haven't given you a complete welcome yet," he continued to smirk. "Welcome to the palace of the Spirit King, Miss Kuchiki. I do hope you enjoy your stay."

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How many of you thought he wouldn't remember this chapter because of what I said earlier? Well he did! Yay! And I put Rukia's dream in there for a few reasons but one was because I felt like we needed to have a time of happiness in this depressing story. Uh-huh. What else? Oh turn of events! Yamamoto is not behind this entire cruel decision making. Interesting, nay? That bastard is back. Well tell me what you guys are thinking. You know I love ya. Until next time, Later


	13. Running From Lions

**A/N:** It's been too long. I'm sorry. Forgive me? Please? Alright. So this next chapter is the second to last chapter (not counting the epilogue). Yeah, it's coming to an end. Either that's exciting or sad. You tell me. Everything is basically explained in this chapter. I hope it makes sense. So the song in this is called, "Running From Lions," by All Time Low. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I've got my half filled Dr. Pepper and a plate full of crumbs. That's about it.

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* * *

_Chapter 13: Running From Lions _

"This is so ridiculous!" Ichigo yelled out. He was still being held back with brute force. Yamamoto remained standing in front of him. "When is the last time you've seen this Spirit King, huh? He should have no right to rule over you if he doesn't even show his appearance! How do you know he's not some weak little bastard that's trying to corrupt us all?!" The sky had turned a dark gray now.

"We don't. But this is how it's always been. We won't change our ways now," the old man replied.

"Screw you and your fucking traditions! Do you know how many times your god damn rules have gotten in my way and made my life a living hell?!" Ichigo was out of control and the weather matched his feelings exactly. The thunder crashed with extreme rage.

"Kurosaki-" Yamamoto began.

"Too many!" Ichigo cut in. "The part that I don't get is, is that Ulquiorra just came into your territory and captured one of your _test subjects_," he said the words with distaste and venom dripping off them. "You have to see something wrong with this! It's like someone planned for Nozomi to be here! Don't you think that there is the slightest possibility that you're being handled like a puppet?!"

"How dare you! Know your place!"

"No! Not until you give me a straight answer for once! I deserve a straight answer damn it!" he was losing his edge now, and began to fall weak in the arms of Kenpachi. His head was bent to the ground as the storm quieted, but the rain finally fell. The water fell into his spiky hair and dripped down causing it to lose its unruliness. "Just give me an answer," he said softly.

Yamamoto's voice went surprisingly soft. "As you wish, Kurosaki. As you wish."

* * *

"I want my daughter, Aizen!" Rukia yelled bravely. 

"She's fine, Miss Kuchiki."

"_Mrs. Kurosaki_," she corrected harshly.

Aizen smirked. "Of course. Forgive me, Mrs. Kurosaki. But I have already told you that Nozomi is completely fine."

She gripped her zanpaktou tightly as she gritted her teeth with disgust towards the pathetic excuse of a man.

"Do you really think you can kill me? Honestly. Kurosaki had a hard enough time doing it. You're nowhere near as strong as him. I can feel it. What's the point? Wouldn't you rather cooperate when your daughter is fine than throw your life away because of some pointless point you're trying to make?"

Rukia continued to glare at the man. Finally after a few seconds of silence she spoke. "Why the hell are you doing this? Why can't you just leave us alone?!" she yelled in a way where you could just hear a begging tone.

He gave an intense gaze and in a flash, was standing in front of her. She was slightly startled but refused to show it. He moved his hand under her chin and smoothly tilted her head up to look at him. She quickly yanked her head away and slapped him straight across the face.

He kept his head in the same position for a moment until he let a smirk reveal on his face. He turned back to look at a fuming Rukia, who had a somewhat amused expression from being able to slap one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

He continued to smirk down at her until he finally made a quick motion with his hand and muttered a word under his breath. She immediately fell to her knees with her arms restrained behind her back. She pulled with all her might but his binding kido was too strong for her.

He slowly bent down onto his knees to be at her level. He took her chin into his hand again and smirked as she grimaced trying to get free.

"Everything I've done has led up to these few moments; everything. The war in Hueco Mundo, my first attempt on executing you in Soul Society, your beloved's human death and your recent return to Soul Society," he spoke simply with calm.

Her nostrils flared, but she didn't completely understand everything yet.

He had an amused look on his face. "Don't you see, Miss Kuch- I mean Mrs. Kurosaki? Everything has gone according to my plan ever since the day you supposedly killed me in Hueco Mundo. I've got everything planned out and soon it will all be over."

She felt her entire body tense and knew that she was burning holes into his body with her eyes. She was basically being told that every move she made was drawing her closer to his check mate.

She could only ask one question. "Where's the Spirit King?"

He smiled at her even more. "I'm delighted you asked, my dear," he paused. "He's dead. I killed him the same day I killed your beloved's human form. And I've been acting as him ever since. But there is one problem that I need to overcome before I can officially become the next Spirit King," he ended as if waiting for to ask.

She glared, knowing he wanted her to continue to ask questions. But she needed to know even though she hated him controlling her like a puppet. "And what might that be?" she said with an unruly attitude.

He leaned even closer to her face. "I have to kill the one next in line before obtaining power."

She hesitated, somewhat frightened by the close proximity. "And who is that?"

He smiled with a twinkle in his eye. He leaned in further so that his mouth was beside her ear. "Someone who should be on their way shortly," he whispered with a mischievous smirk.

* * *

"We've known since the day you were born the amount of power you were going to possess. You are possibly the most important and powerful prodigy I've ever come across," Yamamoto began. 

Ichigo glared suspiciously at the old man. "Because I was the son of a shinigami Captain. I got that. Get to the point."

"Patience was never an attribute found in you, which showed arrogance in a way I'll never know," the old man replied with a bit of a stab at the younger man.

Ichigo growled. "I'm listening," he said with an attitude. "Go on."

"That is true that you were the son of one of our strongest Captains, but there is more," he paused. "The Spirit King is the highest possible stature in the Spirit World. He serves for many years until his time comes to pass it on to the next in line, but his time was ended before he planned."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo questioned hastily.

"He was murdered almost six years ago. And for those six years, the murderer has been acting as the King. The problem is he cannot obtain the full power until the one next in line for the throne is killed."

"Six years ago? That's when I was killed…" Ichigo spoke his thoughts out loud, receiving a nod from Yamamoto.

"Six years ago, your hollow form was not the only thing absorbed into Aizen's zanpaktou. Your human form was as well due to your death. Aizen was able to use your human form to create the King's Key, which allowed him access to the Spirit King's dimension. For six years, Aizen has been the Spirit King," Yamamoto explained.

Ichigo's eyes were wide. He was somewhat speechless. "So everything that has happened – erasing my memory when I came to Soul Society, ordering me to go to the real world, sentencing Rukia to death, sending Nozomi to be researched and jailing me – that was all decided by Aizen…"

"Exactly. We needed to follow orders; otherwise it would look like we knew of the situation. We've obeyed everything… until now," Yamamoto spoke as if he was not done.

"What do you mean?" he questioned hesitantly.

"Now is the time we've waited for. We've waited twenty-eight years for this day to come," he spoke in what Ichigo could only believe were riddles.

"What are you getting at?" he spoke; anxious.

"The time has come for you to take your place on the throne as Spirit King, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo's mouth fell open. His chest grew heavy and he felt off balance. He began to take deep breaths. "Are – I'm – Are you sure?!" he exclaimed almost in a screeching voice.

Yamamoto surprisingly did not react to Ichigo's reaction. "Yes. I'm absolutely sure. It is your destiny. And now, you must go take back what is rightfully yours."

Ichigo took a large swallow. He bowed his head towards the ground and furrowed his eyebrows. His eyes were slammed shut. Everything changed at that moment. He truly was the only one that could save the future. He was now much bigger than anything he could have ever imagined. Yet this destiny; this life he was meant for; was something he wished he was not burdened with; something he wished he could let go of after it was all over. But it was now like a tattoo on his very soul.

He raised his head to look at the old man with eyes showing sadness and disappointment. "Take back what's mine? The only thing I want back is my family," he said softly. He turned around and saw that a gate had been made for him. He took a few steps and then turned around slightly to look back at Yamamoto.

"So everything you've done to me that made my life a living hell, was all in order to bring me to this point in time?" he asked with the tiniest bit of amusement in his eyes.

The old man gave a single strong nod.

Ichigo gave a chuckle and a small smirk. "Then you're first on my list as soon as I'm King."

"Good luck, Ichigo Kurosaki," Yamamoto said, ignoring his comment.

And with that said and done, Ichigo turned back to the gate. 'They're waiting,' he thought to himself. His mind replayed a certain promise that he was ready to fulfill.

_"And saved the princess."_

_"That makes you my knight, Ichigo."_

_"I'll rescue you anytime, Rukia."_

He smiled to himself and then jumped through the gate; determined to do what he had to.

* * *

Ichigo came through and found himself directly in the throne room. Straight ahead was the throne, where he sat as if waiting for him to arrive. "Aizen," he growled. 

"Ah, Kurosaki. Glad you could make it, although you did keep my guests waiting," he said motioning his hand towards two figures bowed on the ground.

"Nozomi! Rukia!" Ichigo yelled.

"Ichi!" Nozomi yelled innocently. "It hurts!" she cried out as she continued to try and get out of the binding spell.

"Damn it! Let them go!" Ichigo yelled with complete rage.

_Get me out of this place, before I cause more damage,  
a small price to pay for building houses out of matchsticks;  
and when things get too hot, you've got me to blame for,  
every fire that breaks out in every lover's name, so..._

"Settle down, Kurosaki. I trust that you understand what is going on here, correct?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Screw you, you bastard," he growled, not wanting to answer his question.

"Come now, aren't you the bit curious as to how the shinigami knew my plans in the first place?"

Ichigo remained silent. Aizen spoke again, but with irritation in his tone, "Well are you, or are you not?"

"Speak," Ichigo ordered with disgust.

Aizen smirked at his attitude. "Ulquiorra; my _supposedly_ most trusted among the Espada. It's a shame really. That Orihime Inoue seemed to have triggered something within him," he sighed. "It doesn't matter really. By the time I got this far he would have grown all heroic anyway. He'll die along with the rest of you soon enough."

"You son of a bitch," he spoke through gritted teeth as he reached for Zangetsu.

_Don't forget, we've got unfinished business,  
stories yet to unfold,  
tales that must be retold,  
and I regret not knowing when to put an end to all this madness,  
keeps me wanting,  
keeps me wanting more..._

"Now, now. You wouldn't want to get me even more upset, would you?" he asked with a smirk.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"Have you not noticed? Shame on you! You should be aware of your beloved's well-being," he said in a mocking tone.

Ichigo glared in confusion, but then immediately looked at Rukia. She wasn't saying anything. She was on her knees like Nozomi, only her head was bent down towards the ground and he could see she was breathing slowly, but heavily. And then – he saw the pool of blood beneath her.

_Sell me out I'm yesterday's old news,  
phrases left on paper,  
black ink bleeding through  
the pages where we made our history.  
Call me foolish,  
I feel helpless..._

For a moment, his body froze. And then in an instant, his spiritual energy seemed to explode.

"I see you understand now. Good," Aizen said simply. He shunpoed to Rukia; holding his zanpaktou under her throat as she remained hunched over.

"Mommy!" Nozomi yelled, frightened.

Aizen ignored the little girl's outburst. "Now here are your choices: Your life or hers?"

_Running from lions, (Like a deer in the headlights)  
never felt like such a mistake (I won't know what hit me...)_

"You sick bastard!" Ichigo yelled gripping Zangetsu with all his might. 'What do I do?' he thought to himself seeing Rukia helpless. 'If I die, then he wins… But I can't let Rukia…'

"There's no time to think, Kurosaki. Decide before I decide for you." Aizen said calmly growing impatient.

Suddenly, a burst of spiritual pressure occurred and within a few seconds, the word, "Neither," was heard. Rukia broke free from her binding and swept her legs under Aizen.

_Don't forget, we've got unfinished business,  
stories yet to unfold,  
tales that must be retold,  
and I regret not knowing when to put an end to all this madness,  
keeps me wanting, _

_keeps me wanting,_

_keeps me wanting,_

Ichigo was startled at first, but seeing his opportunity, he unsheathed Zangetsu and shunpoed towards Aizen. Unfortunately, Aizen had already stood back up and had already parried his attack before Ichigo reached half the distance.

Aizen glared with a smile. "You've got quite a woman, Kurosaki," he said as their zanpaktou interlocked as it became a stalemate of strength.

"I know," Ichigo smirked.

"It will be entertaining to watch her cry out in pain as she dies slowly," he said confidently.

Ichigo's eyes and body began to glow blue, but also, his eyes were turning black. "Sadly, you won't get the chance."

_keeps me wanting more...

* * *

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The fight is about to commence! Exciting! Not much to say so tell me what you think. Any questions? Hmm I'm going to push for the last chapter! It won't be a month! It can't be! That would be messed up. Later


	14. February Song

**A/N:** I updated really, really fast. Amazing. Last chapter, besides the epilogue. This is it. The final battle. Oh boy. Okay, I suggest listening to the song, "Let the Flames Begin," by Paramore at the beginning of the chapter during the fight scene. It's amazing. This chapter is named after the song that I am really using in it, "February Song," by Josh Groban. Such a powerful song. Anyway. It's sad that it has come to this. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Maybe… in my dreams:(

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* * *

_Chapter 14: February Song_

Their zanpaktou clashed and sparks began to fly. Aizen quickly pulled away and swung for Ichigo's waist. With a quick dodge, Ichigo leapt into the air and proceeded to bring down Zangetsu with all his might. Unfortunately, Aizen quickly shunpoed out of the way; leaving him behind Ichigo. This caused the orange headed man to slam into the ground.

Ichigo swirled around. His hollow eyes met Aizen's brown. Aizen smirked at the younger man. He could see the clear transformation occurring. It was still Ichigo's body; his hair; his face; his clothes; but it was clear that the hollow had begun to take over. His eyes were changing, but Aizen quickly recognized his immediate attitude of protecting turned into something containing more enjoyment.

Ichigo began to grin malevolently as he slowly raised his left hand to cover his face. Then, just like that, his mask formed, which was followed by a maniacal laugh.

"Getting straight to the point, aren't you Kurosaki?" Aizen said with a smile. He raised his zanpaktou towards the orange headed man. "Let's finish this," he said, causing Ichigo to scream, "Bankai!" and then dart towards him.

They were moving in incredible speeds. Rukia and Nozomi watched as they flew by in a blur and occasionally stopped to parry the other's attack. The fight was equal in strength, stamina, endurance and any other physical attribute. Everything depended on their minds and souls.

"Please, Ichigo," Rukia said softly as she clenched her fist by her side. "I believe in you. Don't you dare die on me," she added with worry filled eyes. The pain from her wound was growing rapidly. Her body began to shake and she clenched her fists even tighter to control her body.

"Don't worry, mommy. Ichi will save us! I know it!" Nozomi added with confidence causing Rukia to give a small genuine smile to her daughter.

"Nozomi, there's something I have to tell you about Ichigo," Rukia said softly.

The two fighters had clashed once again as they tested their strength. "Every single person on the face of the planet is counting on you. Can you deal with the pressure?" Aizen asked with his cocky smile never leaving his face.

Ichigo yelled out furiously as he slammed Zangetsu against his opponent's zanpaktou; pushing Aizen back slightly.

"Do you realize that in a matter of minutes you, your family, your friends, everyone you ever met and everyone you never got the chance to meet will have their fate ripped out from underneath them and taken over by yours truly? Can you deal with not being able to control whether they live or die?" Aizen added, not being affected by Ichigo's reaction to his earlier remarks.

Ichigo cried out even louder and repeated his earlier action with more force. Aizen bore his eyes into his, which easily stood out through the mask. "I guess you're quite fortunate that you won't have to witness all the bloodshed. You'll be long gone by then," Aizen stated with a fire in his eyes that matched Ichigo's.

Ichigo repeated the same action, only this time he had so much strength backing him up that he was sure to strike Aizen. Sadly, Ichigo wound up too much, giving Aizen a perfect opening that he gladly took.

Ichigo hissed as he felt his enemy's zanpaktou slice along his chest.

"Daddy!" the little girl yelled with great concern. The loved man turned in surprise. His dark eyes grew wide as they locked with the little girl's violet eyes. The fog that had spread through his mind began to dissipate. 'She knows who I am,' he thought as joy began to overwhelm him. But before it could, Aizen backhanded Ichigo across the face with the handle of his zanpaktou.

Ichigo flew to the ground and slid a few feet across the floor. Aizen walked slowly to his opponent and looked down on him; the same way he looked at everyone in the world. He spoke clearly and simply. "How could they ever believe you had a chance to defeat me?" he said before he slammed down his blade.

Aizen glared at Ichigo. The only thing he hit was the tiled floor due to a quick role to the side by the vibrant haired shinigami. He jumped to his feet and gripped Zangetsu tightly.

"Not done yet? I was beginning to prepare for the Kurosaki women's death too. What a pity," Aizen said feigning disappointment. He charged at Aizen and delivered one swing after another. Each additional assault distributed more force than the previous and Aizen was surprisingly struggling. After a few consecutive hits, Aizen stumbled, allowing Ichigo to make a huge gash in his side.

Aizen growled in pain, but immediately held out his hand and yelled, "Thunder Roar Cannon!" casting kido towards Ichigo. A wave of yellow energy shot towards him. He tried to dodge but he was clipped slightly, knocking him off his feet.

Aizen inspected his wound as Ichigo tried to shake off his recent hit on the floor. He stood up slowly and saw that Aizen had already begun to charge at him. He quickly pulled up Zangetsu; blocking just in time.

"This has gone on long enough, Kurosaki," Aizen said, now with anger evident on his face.

Ichigo screamed loudly and clashed their blades together once again. Aizen was pushing Ichigo backwards as they continued to create sparks. Aizen suddenly stopped and pushed his zanpaktou forcefully against Zangetsu. "Rukia is quite a beautiful woman, Kurosaki. Perhaps I'll have some fun before watching her bleed to death," he said with such a malevolent smile that it gave shivers down Ichigo's spine.

Ichigo let out a growl that quickly turned into a war cry as he raised Zangetsu into the air to deliver a fatal blow. Foolishly, Ichigo left himself open again and Aizen shoved his blade straight through his abdomen.

His voice was immediately caught in his throat and he arched forward from the hit. He exhaled loudly and it was heard through his mask. After standing for a few seconds from the shock, he fell backwards; landing on the throne.

"Ichigo!" Rukia screamed with all her might. Somehow she found strength to stand and began to hobble over, only to be intercepted by Aizen.

She went to throw a punch, but he grabbed her wrist in midair. She went to do it again with her other hand, but it was caught again. He grinned down at her. "It's time for us to have some fun, my dear."

She began to scream and move with all her might. "Our time wasn't done yet," a voice said from behind causing Aizen to turn around only to receive a zanpaktou through his chest.

Ichigo had a golden glow around him as he stood tall; holding Zangetsu through Aizen's quivering body. Aizen fell to his knees. "H-how?" he pushed through his mouth.

"Finally, at the last moment in your life, you surrender to someone who has proven more powerful than you, and you bow to the Spirit King," Ichigo spoke sternly, yet calm.

Aizen coughed up some blood and then smiled up at what was now obvious to be the new commander of the Spirit realm. "Well done… your majesty," he said with the slightest bit of resentment. And then suddenly, Ichigo ripped out Zangetsu, allowing his upper body to crash into the ground.

Ichigo stared down at his body, which began to create a pool of blood to spread around it. Then he looked up to see Rukia about to cry. And before she fell to the ground for not having anymore strength to stand, Ichigo caught her and held her in his arms.

He smiled down at her as she cried and gripped a handful of his shinigami robe in her fist. He moved his hand to brush some of her hair behind her ear. "It's okay. Everything is okay now," he said softly trying to calm her.

She took a few breathes. "How are you-?" she weakly asked.

He smiled sweetly, "I guess I was finally accepted as the next King," he said looking over at the throne, which held his very own blood on its seat.

"Daddy!" Nozomi yelled, running over to them. He bent down slightly, making sure not to let go of Rukia, and scooped up his daughter.

"I knew you would save us!" she cheered sweetly, wrapping her arms around his neck. He smiled at his little girl and kissed her cheek. Then he turned and kissed Rukia on her forehead.

"Let's get you guys out of here," he said helping Rukia over to the portal back to Soul Society.

* * *

She was lying down on a bed as her eyes began to flutter open. Her vision was blurry, but it began to reveal a room full of familiar people; too many people.

Her eyes grew wide from the many people that were leaning over her. The first thing she saw was unavoidable orange hair. She leaned back into the bed more.

"Guys back up a bit. You're making her feel cornered," a soft voice said from the side.

Rukia turned to see a smiling Orihime. "How are you feeling?" she asked sweetly as many of the people around her backed a few feet away from the bed.

"I'm fine. Where's-" she began to say until her question was answered.

"Mommy! You're awake!" Nozomi yelled and jumped on the bed.

Rukia smiled at her. "How long have I been out?" she looked around asking no one in particular.

"About twelve hours. You passed out before we got back to Soul Society. I had to carry you here," he said with a charismatic smile.

"Well I knew you could handle it," she said in defense.

"I don't know. Orihime had to heal my back after tha-" he began but was interrupted by a pillow hitting his face. "Hey!"

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked to the side. "Serves you right, Strawberry."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "You should give more respect to someone of my stature, midget," he said crossing his arms over his chest and raising his head slightly.

Rukia looked back at him, "The only thing I'll give you is a beating, fruit-boy."

They glared for a moment, but then their facial expressions softened.

"They haven't changed one bit," Ishida added, having everyone agree with a simple nod or incoherent mumble.

"I've got to get out of this damn bed. I feel too weak sitting here," she said throwing the sheets off her. She walked over to her shinigami robes folded on a table to the side and turned around. "Ah-hem," she said expectantly.

Everyone seemed to feel uncomfortable and scurried out of the room; everyone except one. She raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think you're any exception?"

He smirked wildly and began to walk slowly towards her. "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

She glared at him and threw one of her sandals at him, but couldn't hide the smile on her face. He threw it back towards her but it hit the floor in front of her. "Ichigo! That door isn't even locked. Let me change?" she asked innocently.

He smiled, "One condition," he said before dropping to the floor to pick up her sandal.

She sighed with a smile. "You're impossible. What?"

He looked up since he was on one knee, "Marry me," he said pulling out a ring from his robe pocket.

Her mouth dropped, but quickly curled into a smile. His amber eyes were piercing through her violets. He waited patiently for her answer surprisingly.

She closed her eyes for a second and then opened them. "You already know the answer to that," she said softly.

His smile grew even wider. "Is it a shame to want to hear you say it?"

She raised an eyebrow, but then shook her head with a chuckle. "Of course I'll marry you… if you put my sandal on my foot like it's a glass slipper."

He raised an eyebrow at her this time. Then he held his hand out for her small foot, which she immediately understood. He slowly slipped the sandal on and then stood up slowly; placing the ring on her finger when he finally stood straight.

"You're insane, you know that?" he commented due to her demand.

"Then I guess we are a good pair, huh?" she added looking down at her ring finger.

They locked eyes for a moment with gentle smiles across their faces. Then, she quickly moved and wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her waist as they went into a long awaited passionate kiss. Too long had they been separated; too long had they been prevented from the other's touch. But now everything was different and they knew that.

They pulled away and looked into each other's eyes. "Get dressed. I'll see you outside," he smiled at her and walked out.

* * *

She opened the door and found everyone she ever knew waiting for her. There was carpet stretched out from the door she stood at to about twenty feet in front of her. Her mouth hung open as she saw her daughter dropping purple tulips down the carpet. At the end, Ichigo waited.

She was shocked at first, but then immediately found herself choked up. She took one step out and found her brother standing beside her with his arm held out to her. He gave one of his rare smiles and she held his arm as they began to walk down.

When she reached Ichigo, her brother kissed her cheek and sat down. Orihime, Momo and Rangiku stood as her bridesmaids, while Ishida, Renji and Chad stood as his ushers. Urahara stood as the one who would conduct the ceremony.

Ichigo whispered in her ear, "I hope you don't think this is rushing it. I didn't think you'd mind about not having the whole dress and elegant wedding. Tell me I'm wrong and we can stop right n-"

"Shut up, Ichigo. You're ruining the moment," she smirked at him.

He smiled back and it began.

* * *

They came busting through the thirteenth squad's headquarters, which was left abandoned with the thanks to Captain Ukitake.

Her legs were wrapped around his waist as they remained connected by the mouth. "Wait," Ichigo said breaking away from her. He was clearly out of breath.

He let her down and she walked over to her bed that she hadn't seen in over six years. She sat down and he sat down next to her.

"I- um. I have to tell you something," he said with regret in his tone.

She looked at him suspiciously, but spoke kindly. "What is it?"

"I- I rushed the wedding for a reason. I wish- I wish I told you earlier now," he said letting out a large breath.

"Ichigo," she said softly placing her hand on his shoulder.

He looked up at her. "I have to go away for awhile. I'm the Spirit King now; it's not my choice. I have to go away – by myself and carry out my duty."

"How long?" she asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"I don't know," he said so softly that you could have easily mistaken him for a little boy. He looked down to his lap.

She looked at him trying to read him and then slowly raised her hand and placed it on his cheek. She moved his head to look at her.

"We've been through so much. So many things have gotten in the way and so many things have pushed us apart. But no matter what, we seem to always find each other again. I know you'll come back, Ichigo because I keep holding on to you."

He saw the sadness in her eyes, but he also saw something else. Something he thought she had given up on a long time ago; hope. His face showed surprise, but her warmth quickly overtook him as he leaned in and kissed her gently.

They began to get wrapped up in their emotions; letting them take over as they allowed the other complete them in their every desire.

* * *

They woke up with Ichigo's arms wrapped around her waist, and Rukia's palm placed on his bare chest.

"We've been lying here for two hours Rukia," Ichigo said softly into her hair as he kissed her head.

"I don't want to move. Getting up only brings you're departure closer," she whined in a childish voice.

He smiled, "Being cute won't change anything," he said, caressing her cheek with one hand.

She pouted, but then stayed quiet for a moment. "Come on, Ichigo," she said sadly, beginning to get up.

* * *

The gate was open for him and everyone grouped around to see him off. No one knew how long he would be gone for and everything that had just turned happy in the universe seemed to have had a drawback.

He stood looking at everyone. His father hugged him tightly and patted him forcefully on the back, "I told you all those surprise attacks were worth it, my boy!"

Ichigo smiled at him, "Crazy old man." He hugged his sisters and then moved to his shinigami companions. He shook hands and bowed to some.

"Captain Hitsugaya," he said holding his hand out to the white haired captain. He smiled and grabbed his hand, "Toushirou," he corrected. Ichigo smirked and hugged Momo.

Rangiku suffocated him with a huge hug as Renji hit him on the back so hard he got the wind knock out of him. He walked over to Byakuya, who held out his hand. "You come back and take care of my sister and niece, understood?"

_Where has that old friend gone  
Lost in a February song  
Tell him it won't be long  
Til he opens his eyes, opens his eyes_

Ichigo smiled and shook his hand. He was now ranked higher than the almighty Byakuya Kuchiki, yet he still treated him the same. "Yes, Cap," he said, receiving a smirk from the older man. 'It still gets to him,' Ichigo thought with success.

Orihime jumped on him slightly and squeezed tightly. She spoke into his ear, "Don't keep us waiting long, okay?" she said letting go. He nodded.

Ishida held out his hand, but Ichigo disregarded it and gave him a hug, which startled the Quincy. "Watch out for them, will ya?" he asked pulling away.

_Where is that simple day  
Before colors broke into shades  
And how did I ever fade  
Into this life, into this life_

Ishida smiled, "You got it, Kurosaki."

Ichigo then turned to see a little girl, whose bottom lip was quivering. He bent down and picked her up. "Hey you," he said softly.

She sniffled, "Hi," she said back with a quivering voice. "I don't want you to go away, Daddy."

He smiled at her as a tear strolled down her cheek. He wiped away the tear, "I have to, Zomi. Please don't cry," he begged wiping away more tears that fell. "What does mommy always tell you?"

_And I never want to let you down  
Forgive me if I slip away  
When all that I've known is lost and found  
I promise you I, I'll come back to you one day_

"If I'm going to cry, only let one tear fall. Save the rest for a time when you really need them," she said, sniffling afterwards.

"Right. It's not worth it now. I'm coming back. I promise. Nothing will keep me from you," he said looking into her big violet eyes. "Plus," he added with a smirk, "You're too pretty to cry," he said lifting her head up with his hand under her chin.

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I love you, Zomi," he said into her ear. "I love you too, Daddy," she said, gaining her a kiss on the cheek.

_Morning is waking up  
And sometimes it's more than just enough  
When all that you need to love  
Is in front of your eyes  
It's in front of your eyes_

He set her down and watched as her uncle picked her up. He turned and looked over at the woman who watched with delicate eyes. He walked over slowly.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he replied back. Another goodbye; another departure; another feeling of pain.

She cut their gaze and looked to the side. She took a deep swallow.

"What are you doing?" he asked softly.

_And I never want to let you down  
Forgive me if I slip away  
Sometimes it's hard to find the ground  
Cause I keep on falling as I try to get away  
From this crazy world_

"I'm trying not to cry," she said straight out. He smiled at his wife, who was kept avoiding to look at him.

He raised his hand to her cheek and gently pushed head to look at him. "I promise to meet you again someday."

Her chest felt heavy as she remembered their first farewell. "I'll wait for that day to come."

They both took a step closer and rested their foreheads against each other. Their eyes were shut as they finished together, "And when it comes, I'll never let you go."

_And I never want to let you down  
Forgive me if I slip away  
When all that I've known is lost and found  
I promise you I, I'll come back to you one day_

They leaned away and went for a simple gentle kiss that lasted as long as necessary; a kiss that said just how much they felt towards each other and a kiss that left room for the future ones to come.

"I'll always love you," Rukia said gently before taking another deep swallow.

"I'll love you for eternity," Ichigo said with a smile before turning around and walking to the gate. He stopped before taking his last step in and looked over his shoulder one last time. Then, with the slightest smile, he was gone.

Rukia watched the gate close and then let a small smile grow on her face. "This time, both my heart and mind will remember. And I'll be waiting for you to come back," she said, allowing only one tear to fall.

_Where has that old friend gone  
Lost in a February song  
Tell him it won't be long  
Til he opens his eyes  
Opens his eyes

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_

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That's it! Epilogue is next. And I already have that written, so I'm done. And it's kinda sad, yet exciting at the same time. I really don't have anything to say for once. I'll see you in the last piece of this story. Later


	15. At The Beginning

**A/N:** This is it. Everything has led up to this moment where the door would be closed and locked up forever. How sad did I just make you feel? Hah, well I made myself sad by saying that. Damn. Okay, so this is the epilogue to the entire series I've created. I hope you enjoy this final conclusion. It's named after the song from the animated movie, Anastasia, "At the Beginning," by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned time, so I could go back and start this whole thing over again, but I don't. I do own these tears though…

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* * *

_Epilogue: At The Beginning_

She was walking in a large open field of flowers. She saw possibly everyone she knew in this same field; all seeming to enjoy themselves.

Uryuu was playing with water guns with Ryo, Nozomi, Chad and Shuuhei. "Uryuu," Nozomi questioned, pulling his shirt as Ryo continued to chase Chad and Shuuhei with his super-soaker.

"Yes, Nozomi?" Uryuu replied with a smile.

"Daddy's been gone for awhile now. Doesn't Soul Society realize he saved their butts?! They need to give him a break!" she said, letting her unruly attitude show.

Uryuu smiled at the girl's behavior. She was a perfect mix of her parents. "Don't worry, he'll be back soon. You're father is an important guy. Without him, who knows what this world would be like! He won't have to go back for a long time after this."

She smiled brightly, "Good! Now let's go! I'm going for Ryo, who are you going for?"

He smiled down at her, "Chad. Ready? One, two, three!" The two then took off running after their targets.

Orihime then bent down and picked up a little girl about three years old and began to comfort her due to a bee flying near the little girl's head. "It's okay, Nami. Mommy's got you. Shhh."

Orihime then handed over a picnic basket to Tatsuki, who wore a fake smile due to the anticipated food in the said basket. Tatsuki looked up and smiled at a little boy who called out, "Mommy."

Renji was seen swinging the said little boy around in the air. "Dizzy yet, Hoshi?" Renji chided to his son with a smirk. The little boy with red hair giggled and said, "No," in a tone where you could hear his dizziness.

Byakuya, who had a little boy with bright orange hair on his shoulders, began to walk towards Unohana who was sitting beside Rangiku, Momo and Toushirou.

"Uncle Bya? You know, you're really tall! I heard daddy's almost as tall as you! Mommy showed me pictures. She said one day I'll be really tall! You think I'll be taller than you? Maybe then I could give _you_ a piggyback ride! But not if you get fat because then I won't be able to pick you up. But maybe I'll end up being strong like daddy too!" The little boy continued to talk as his uncle rolled his eyes. There was a moment of silence that surprised Byakuya, until the boy spoke again.

"Uncle Bya, do you know when daddy will be home?" he asked sadly.

"He'll be home any minute, Yoshi. Don't worry," Byakuya couldn't help but smile. No matter how much he talked, he still loved his nephew.

Rangiku was testing the two with questions on how well they knew each other to see how good of a couple Momo and Toushirou were. Toushirou sat there not seeming to care at all, yet answering when he was asked a question. Rangiku was reading out of a magazine and when Toushirou got a question wrong he got furious, grabbed the magazine and threw it. He said what a stupid game it was while crossing his arms over his chest and looking into the distance. Momo giggled and kissed him tenderly on the lips to calm him down.

_We were strangers  
Starting out on a journey  
Never dreaming  
What we'd have to go through  
Now here we are  
And I'm suddenly standing  
At the beginning with you_

Rukia stood there watching it all. It was so surreal. She couldn't help but smile at the pure bliss around her. She then felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind. She jumped slightly, but relaxed into the familiar feeling. She closed her eyes and leaned back into his body with a smile on her face.

"Why on earth is a beautiful woman like you standing alone on such a wonderful day like today?" he said softly into her ear.

_No one told me  
I was going to find you  
Unexpected  
What you did to my heart  
When I lost hope  
You were there to remind me  
This is the start_

She raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Well my husband went away on business. And I believe he would kill you if he saw exactly what you were doing right now."

He chuckled. "Are you so sure? Maybe he would applaud me for not giving up a chance like this," he said, following with kisses down her neck and onto her bare shoulder.

_Life is a road  
And I want to keep going  
Love is a river  
I wanna keep flowing  
Life is a road  
Now and forever  
Wonderful journey_

She turned around in his arms as his kisses left shivers down her spine and wrapped her own arms around his neck. "Hm, you're not as good looking as my husband." she said smiling widely.

He smiled, "Oh really? Well I bet this will change you're mind," he said, closing the gap between them and placing his lips on hers gently.

_I'll be there  
When the world stops turning  
I'll be there  
When the storm is through  
In the end I wanna be standing  
At the beginning with you_

He pulled away. "He can kiss better too," she said innocently with a smirk.

He scowled, "'_Can kiss better'_ my ass!" he said, forcefully capturing her lips into a much more passionate kiss.

When they finally pulled away, she was left breathless, which made him smile in victory. She rested her head against his chest, "Mr. Kurosaki is definitely getting lucky tonight."

_We were strangers  
On a crazy adventure  
Never dreaming  
How our dreams would come true  
Now here we stand  
Unafraid of the future  
At the beginning with you_

"Music to my ears," he said with a smirk that Rukia knew was on his face without having to look.

They stood there in each other's embrace for some time as they watched their family enjoy themselves. "You know," Rukia started. "I've had a dream of this a long time ago. It's exactly how I pictured it."

_Life is a road  
And I want to keep going  
Love is a river  
I wanna keep flowing  
Life is a road  
Now and forever  
Wonderful journey_

Ichigo closed his eyes and bent his head down to take in the lavender scent of her hair. "Oh yeah?" he questioned with a smile. "So if you've already dreamt this, why don't you tell me what happens next?"

She pulled away and looked up into his amber eyes. Violet met amber once again in a beautiful embrace. She held a slight smile while she talked, "That's just it. I never got to see what happened after this."

_I'll be there  
When the world stops turning  
I'll be there  
When the storm is through  
In the end I wanna be standing  
At the beginning with you_

He smirked and bent down to capture her lips, not being able to resist. They remained that way for quite some time, but then pulled away, with his arms still wrapped around her waist and her arms around his neck.

He smiled tenderly at her as they stared back into the windows of their souls. "Then I guess all we can do is live life to the fullest and if anything bad ever comes our way, we just have to keep holding on, huh?"

_I knew there was somebody somewhere  
Like me alone in the dark  
Now I know my dream will live on  
I've been waiting so long  
Nothing's gonna tear us apart_

Rukia smiled back in the same manner and gave a slight nod. "Right," she said softly.

"Daddy! Daddy!" was heard being called. The couple turned to see their children running toward them in excitement from about fifty feet away.

_Life is a road  
And I want to keep going  
Love is a river  
I wanna keep flowing  
Life is a road  
Now and forever  
Wonderful journey_

Ichigo looked back to his wife and smiled. "I need you to know, that every moment I spent with you, from every time we fought, to every time we tried to save each other, I wouldn't give up any of those moments. Not one. Every little scratch I got that you yelled at me for, saying it was because of you that I got them, was worth getting. Just to have another moment with you. Just to get a chance to see you pissed off at me for something, to see you laugh, to see you sad. But most of all, just to see you smile. You made my life something I could have never dreamt of having. You're something I can never replace and will hold in my heart forever."

_I'll be there  
When the world stops turning  
I'll be there  
When the storm is through  
In the end I wanna be standing  
At the beginning with you_

"You can't come up with your own lines anymore, huh, Kurosaki? You have to steal them from your past self, huh?" she teased.

He chuckled and then went serious again, "No. I'm just letting you know that after all these years, it still applies."

_Life is a road and I wanna keep going  
Love is a river I wanna keep going on...  
Starting out on a journey_

Rukia smiled up at him sincerely, "I love you too, Ichigo." And as they moved in for another kiss, their children crashed into them, wrapping their arms around their legs. They were startled but then bent down and picked up a child. Rukia picked up and began tickling Yoshi and Ichigo began to make Nozomi soar through the air as they made their way back to the rest of their family.

_  
Life is a road and I wanna keep going  
Love is river I wanna keep flowing  
In the end I wanna be standing  
At the beginning with you._

The End

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Can you believe it? I can, but I don't know if I want to. All good things have to come to an end, sadly. So it's finally over. It's been a great run though. It started in April, but it feels like just yesterday. You guys must be thinking, "She finally made it happy!" Haha well, yes I did. I always planned on making it happy. I mean I would have killed myself if I ended Leaving Town like that and never came back with this story. So anyways, I want to let you know how much I appreciate everyone of you guys. You gave me a lot of support and I loved writing this. So thank you so much. I will end this the same way as always. Later

- By the way, I hope that you'll be happy to hear that I'm nowhere near done writing for you guys. There is _**Run To You**_ that I put out which is AU, but there is another one that I will soon put out. It's going to be called _**These Days**_ and it will take place after the series has ended kind of thing (I know it's not over, but it will act like it did). It's going to be more believable to happen in the series if you know what I mean. If you want more descriptions just ask me. So I hope you guys follow me through another journey. Love ya! Later


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